Maui boy, 7, is found burned to death in car as local lawmaker says she fears ... trends now

A seven-year-old boy has been found dead in a burned out car in Maui amid fears children will make up a large number of those who perished in the devastating wildfires. 

The death toll from the fires increased to 111 on Wednesday night but lawmaker Elle Cochran, who is in the Hawaii House of Representatives, said it could grow to hundreds as search operations continue.

Cochran fears many of the dead could be children because many schools in Lahaina, the historic town that has been ruined, were closed on the day of the fires due to power outages. A lot of children stayed at home while their parents were at work and might have been trapped and perished.

A kindergarten teacher in Lahaina said that a seven-year-old boy - who is the cousin of two of her former students - was found dead alongside his family in a burned out car.

Jessica Sill, who teaches at King Kamehameha III Elementary School, told the Wall Street Journal: 'Our parents work one, two, three jobs just to get by and they can’t afford to take a day off.

'Without school, there was nowhere for [kids] to go that day.'

Public schools on Maui have started the process of reopening and traffic has also resumed on a major road, in signs the painful recovery process is underway.

At least three schools untouched by flames in Lahaina, where entire neighborhoods were reduced to ash, were still being assessed after sustaining wind damage, Hawaii Department of Education superintendent Keith Hayashi said.

'There's still a lot of work to do, but overall the campuses and classrooms are in good condition structurally, which is encouraging,' Hayashi said in a video update.

'We know the recovery effort is still in the early stages, and we continue to grieve the many lives lost.'

Elsewhere crews cleaned up ash and debris at schools and tested air

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