President Joe Biden spoke with reporters after he and the first lady toured the damage of the wildfires with Gov. Josh Green and other Hawaii elected officials.
Biden, who spoke near a historic banyan tree that was not burned, acknowledged the damage was devastating but said the strength of residents and state and local leaders would help the community persevere.
"The tree survived for a reason. I believe it's a powerful, a very powerful symbol of what we can and will do to get through this crisis," he said.
The president reflected on his own loss when his first wife Neilia and 13-month-old daughter Naomi were killed in a car crash in 1972 and said he knows the pain of what many residents, especially ones who are still searching for their loved ones, are going through.
Biden said there are over 450 search-and-rescue experts working around the clock to help find people.
"The difference between knowing somebody's gone and worrying whether they're available to come back are two different things," he said.
Biden acknowledged the long road ahead but reiterated that the federal government will be on the island "for as long as it takes" to help them recover and rebuild.
He emphasized that the federal government "will be respectful of the sacred grounds [and] the traditions."
"We're going to rebuild the way that people of Maui want to build, but you know, it's gonna be hard," he said.
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