King Charles and Queen Camilla issue statement on Hawaii fire

King Charles on Saturday said he and his wife Queen Camilla are utterly horrified to hear of the catastrophic wildfires currently burning in Maui, Hawaii.

"We can only begin to imagine the scale of the devastation engulfing the island, and the heartrending anguish of those whose livelihoods have been so disastrously affected," the king said in a statement.

The death toll from a horrific wildfire in Hawaii climbed to 80 as residents confronted the devastation and criticisms grew Saturday over the emergency response.

Over 2,200 structures were damaged or destroyed in the fire, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said, estimating that it would cost some $5.5 billion to rebuild affected communities.

Hawaiian authorities said they were opening a probe into the handling of the fire as a congresswoman from the state´s Big Island acknowledged that officials had underestimated the dangers.

In the historic resort city of Lahaina on the island of Maui, resident Anthony Garcia said the fire had gutted the apartment he was renting and destroyed all his belongings and memories.