Photos: Hawaii fire survivors survey aftermath and look ahead to recovery

The most serious blaze swept into Lahaina and destroyed nearly every building in the town of 13,000. When the flames were out and the smoke cleared, all that remained was a grid of gray rubble wedged between the blue ocean and lush green slopes.

Now begins a long recovery as survivors mourn the dead, search teams look for more victims in the charred debris and families try to begin anew.

The cause of the wildfire is under investigation. Fueled by a dry summer and strong winds from a passing hurricane , the flames raced through parched brush covering the island.

Donated clothes are gathered in a parking lot in Lahaina, Hawaii, following heavy damage caused by wildfire in the area.

A woman digs through rubble of a home destroyed by a wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii.

Myrna Ah Hee reacts as she waits in front of an evacuation center at the War Memorial Gymnasium in Wailuku, Hawaii.

Summer Gerlingpicks up her piggy bank found in the rubble of her home following the wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii.

A man walks through wildfire wreckage in Lahaina, Hawaii.

People walk along Main Street past wildfire damage in Lahaina, Hawaii.

An owl sits in a burnt tree in Lahaina, Hawaii.