MAUI, Hawaii: Hawaii Governor Josh Green has announced that the death toll from last month's deadly fire on Maui has fallen to 97 dead, and the number of people missing has been reduced to 31.

Only last week, Green said the death toll was 115 and 66 missing.

"The death toll dropped because we have Department of Defense anthropologists who are able to do a lot more advanced genetics. They were able to make sure we weren't tragically commingling any of the people we lost," Green said.

The August 8 fire roared through grasslands along the base of a volcano flowing into the town of Lahaina, destroying or damaging some 2,200 buildings.