As viewed from a helicopter Thursday morning, the devastation to the heart of Lahaina stretches from its world-famous harbor to the top of town. Destroyed buildings include (clockwise from right): King Kamehameha III Elementary School, Old Lahaina Courthouse, Pioneer Inn, Lahaina Public Library, Baldwin Home Museum, Wharf Cinema Center and other businesses, apartments and homes. All surround the town’s charred banyan tree. Similar destruction stretched from Puamana to Wahikuli and in neighborhoods far uphill. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

KAHULUI — For two days, Jasmine Manu and her family searched for signs of their grandparents, Ernest and Deanna Cabatingan, who lived on Ainakea Road in Wahikuli in the path of a fast-moving wildfire.

“Aunts, uncles and cousins searched shelters, registered Red Cross and watched social media feeds praying they’d been found,” Manu said via Facebook Messenger on Thursday. “Wednesday night came all too quick without any new news.”

The family knew the house was gone. A cousin had taken a boat to Lahaina and used a dirt bike to travel to “papa’s house.”

“The home was in ashes. However, their car was gone — which kept us hopeful,” Manu said.

Then on Thursday, a cousin got through to the Cabatingans via cellphone. They’d driven to the Fairway Shops in Kaanapali, where they found bathrooms and stayed in their car for two days.

Topped by a sheen of oil, Lahaina Harbor has about a dozen boats still floating Wednesday. Most of the vessels moored at the harbor were destroyed in Tuesday’s inferno and sank to the bottom.

“I was overcome with emotions and immediately burst into tears,” Manu said when she heard the news.

The couple headed into Kahului, where about 25 family members met them “at my Papa’s favorite spot, Zippy’s.”

“Neighbors mentioned my papa refusing to leave his home. This stubborn Hawaiian born and raised on the West side did not want to leave. But thankfully he did,” Manu said. “We called and called but no cell service provided an all too familiar reality for so many across the island.”

Manu’s family is like countless others on Maui and off island who are searching for any sign of loved ones in shelters or on social media in the chaos of the wildfires and mass evacuations from Lahaina.

The amount of missing people is still unclear. Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said at a news conference on Thursday afternoon numbers are “fluid,” estimating that there could be as many as 1,000 missing people, but he cautioned that this doesn’t mean they have died. Like the Cabatingans, they could be unreachable as both internet and cellular service in West Maui were disrupted by the fires.

The home of Ernest and Deanna Cabatingan was destroyed in Wahikuli. But the couple made it out safe and were reunited with family Thursday. Photo courtesy Jasmine Manu

But as the confirmed death toll in the Lahaina fires grew to 55 on Thursday, authorities said they expect more casualties.

Pelletier called Lahaina town “hallowed sacred ground now” and said the focus was on finding victims.

“We have to get them out as fast as we can,” he said.

Pelletier advised folks looking for loved ones to seek help from the Family Assistance Center that opened Thursday at the Kahului Community Center at 275 Uhu St. The center is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. today. Hours for the future have not been set.

The Maui Emergency Management Agency will pass out forms to be filled out to help in the process of locating unaccounted for family members.

Ernest Cabatingan is greeted at Zippy’s in Kahului. His family said he and his wife were missing after the Lahaina fire. Photo courtesy Jasmine Manu

People trying to locate loved ones who may be impacted by the fire also can call the American Red Cross hotline at (800) 733-2767.

Pelletier said he understood the public wants to get back into Lahaina but said he could not open the road, as missing people needed to be found. He did not give an estimate on how long it would take.

Assistant Chief for Support Services Jeffrey Giesea said that search and rescue has been “going on pretty much from the get-go in various forms” as firefighters battling the blaze helped people to safety and a crews from Maui County Ocean Safety, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Navy searched the coastline after multiple people jumped in the ocean to escape the fire.

A team of federal responders from the U.S. Department of Defense is currently working with Maui Police Department officers on search and rescue efforts, Giesea said. They are going through the damaged areas systematically, marking structures they’ve searched and areas where people may need to be rescued.

“They’re basically going through the entire damaged area to find people that we haven’t found yet that might need assistance as well as to help us identify where deceased individuals can be found, so when we begin our recovery efforts on a larger scale, we’re already doing that with a clear understanding of where we need to go, where we need to prioritize,” Giesea told The Maui News on Thursday.

Deanna and Ernest Cabatingan of Wahikuli pose for a photo at Zippy’s in Kahului Thursday. The family had reported the couple missing after the Lahaina fire. Photo courtesy Jasmine Manu

Many of those with properties on the west side are still searching for information. The fire not only leveled the entirety of Front Street’s businesses but also housing developments across Lahaina.

Grant Chun, executive director of Hale Mahaolu, which has affordable senior and family housing across the island, including in Lahaina, said Thursday that his staff on the west side have been accounted for and were safe and unharmed.

But he said he did not have information concerning residents.

The nonprofit has family housing at Komohana Hale and Lahaina Surf along with senior housing at the Hale Mahaolu Eono in West Maui. A helicopter flyover with The Maui News and other media on Thursday afternoon showed all structures in the area where Hale Mahaolu Eono once stood had completely burned down.

Meanwhile, families have been posting on social media in search of loved ones in West Maui.

Melinda Young of Kahului shows a photo of friend and co-worker Mona Cole, who was last reported at her condominium in Lahaina Tuesday afternoon. After Young and Cole’s family searched and worried, Cole’s phone service returned and she was able to call and tell them she was safe. The Maui News / MELISSA TANJI photo

The Sato family is looking for Edward Sato along with his girlfriend Melva Benjamin. They were last known to have been leaving their residence on Kopili Street in Lahaina and heading to a shelter around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The couple’s families said their cellphones may be out of power and they may not have cell service.

On Thursday, the county opened a Family Assistance Center at the Kahului Community Center at 275 Uhu St. for people looking for information on loved ones.

Melinda Young of Kahului arrived at the center to find any word of friend and co-worker Mona Cole, who was last known to have been in her Hoonanea condominium in Lahaina around 3 p.m. after coming home from a trip.

Young was worried Cole had fallen asleep as the fire roared through the town, as no one could get in touch with her, including her family from New Jersey.

But Thursday evening, Cole came back to her condo and neighbors saw news reports of her missing. Cole’s phone service came on and she was able to call, Young said Thursday evening. It turned out Cole had been living in her car.

* Staff Writer Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com. Managing Editor Colleen Uechi contributed to this report.