NorCal Woman Is First Tourist Killed In Maui Wildfire

MAUI — A Northern California woman is among the victims of the deadly wildfire in Maui that has claimed more than 100 lives and left over 1,000 people missing, according to reports.

Maui police on Tuesday released the identity of 72-year-old Theresa Cook along with seven other victims, bringing the fatality count to 115 and the number of victims identified to 43.

Cook, of Pollock Pines, is the first tourist to be named as a victim of the fire, according to KTVU, which reported she was set to fly home the day after the blaze began on Aug. 8.

She was on vacation and was traveling alone when her Lahaina hotel evacuated, KCRA reported, adding Cook’s family also lost their home in the 2007 Angora Fire.

Authorities in Hawaii are pleading with relatives of those missing after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century to come forward and give DNA samples, saying the low number provided so far threatens to hinder efforts to identify any remains discovered in the ashes.

Some 1,000 to 1,100 names remain on the FBI's tentative, unconfirmed list of people unaccounted for after wildfires destroyed the historic seaside community of Lahaina. But the family assistance center so far has collected DNA from just 104 families, said Julie French, who is helping lead efforts to identify remains by DNA analysis.

Maui Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Martin, who is running the center, said that the number of family members coming in to provide DNA samples is "a lot lower" than in other major disasters around the country, though it wasn't immediately clear why.

Martin and French sought to reassure people that any samples would be used only to help identify fire victims and would not be entered into any law enforcement databases or used for any other purpose. People will not be not asked about their immigration status or citizenship, they said.

"What we want to do — all we want to do — is help people locate and identify their unaccounted-for loved ones," Martin said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.