Maui wildfires updates: President Biden, first lady tour damage

The United States Coast Guard (USCG) announced Monday it's launched pollution response teams and equipment to deal with the environmental impact of the Maui wildfires, as it shifts focus from search and rescue operations.

“While the Coast Guard is always postured for search and rescue operations, we are also focused on minimizing maritime environmental impacts as a result of the Maui fires,” Cmdr. Kyra Dykeman, the deputy incident commander for the Coast Guard Maui fire response, said in a news release. “We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to the community we serve.”

The USCG placed a 100-foot boom "at the mouth of Lahaina Harbor to contain potential hazardous contaminants and materials," USCG said.

The death toll from the Maui wildfires has increased to 99, according to Hawaii Gov. Josh Green.

During an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Green said the number of fatalities is expected to go up "very significantly," as there are still hundreds of people unaccounted for.

"A lot of people had to run and left all they had behind," the governor told CNN. "They don't have their phones, [and] the phones are incinerated."

The first 80 victims were found on Front Street in cars and along the water, according to Green.

Officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency updated reporters Monday afternoon about their current efforts on the island and said the operations aren't considered solely a recovery effort yet, despite the use of cadaver dogs.

"We know that there are people not yet accounted for, but we anticipate that there are people who have just moved to different locations either in Maui, different islands in Hawaii, or perhaps even the mainland with loved ones and family members," Jeremy Greenberg, FEMA's director for the Operations Division, said.

Tonya Hoover, the deputy U.S. fire administrator at the U.S. Fire Administration, told reporters that high winds complicated fire mitigation efforts. She added that many local firefighters lost their homes in the wildfires.

"As you might imagine, seeing the fires effect on their community and their own losses have taken an emotional toll on them as well," Hoover said.

-ABC News' Anne Flaherty

Wildfires crept up on Maui residents and tourists on Aug. 8, as a perfect storm of strong winds and dry conditions left the island vulnerable to what state officials say has become the deadliest natural disaster in the state's history.