KAHULUI, Hawaii — President Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrived in Maui on Monday to comfort survivors of the devastating wildfires that ripped through the western part of the Hawaiian island, as his administration responds to the devastation whose full scope is still unknown.

The Bidens lingered briefly on the tarmac after arriving at Kahului Airport to console Hawaii Gov. Josh Green and his wife Jaime Green as well as members of Hawaii’s congressional delegation who came to the airport to greet them.

The president and first lady embraced each of their greeters before boarding Marine One to get an aerial tour of the devastation caused by the fires.

The Bidens interrupted a weeklong vacation in the Lake Tahoe area for the five-hour flight to Lahaina, a historic town of 13,000 people that was virtually destroyed by the flames. The couple will meet with first responders and be briefed by state and local officials about the ongoing response.

The Democratic president will deliver remarks paying tribute to the victims of the wildfires, which have killed more than 100 people since they erupted on Aug. 8.

The White House announced Monday that Biden has named Bob Fenton, a regional leader at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to be the chief federal response coordinator for the Maui wildfires, ensuring that someone from his administration will be responsible for long-term recovery efforts. It will take years to rebuild Lahaina, where just about every building was obliterated.

“I know how profoundly loss can impact a family and a community and I know nothing can replace the loss of life,” Biden said in a statement before the trip. “I will do everything in my power to help Maui recover and rebuild from this tragedy.”

Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen said in a social media post Sunday that 27 victims had been identified and 11 families were notified of the losses. The FBI and the Maui County medical examiner and coroner’s office are working together to identify the recovered remains.

Bissen said 850 names were on a list of missing people, taking hope from the fact that the initial list contained more than 2,000 names.