The wildfires that have devastated parts of the Hawaiian island of Maui have killed six people and forced others to flee into the ocean.
Richard Bissen Jr., the mayor of the West Maui community of Lahaina Town, said on Wednesday six people had died and there had been 13 evacuations for three fires.
Fire was widespread in Lahaina Town, a popular shopping and dining area, County of Maui spokesperson Mahina Martin said by phone.
Aerial video from after sunrise revealed entire blocks of buildings reduced to ash and thick smoke in the air.
As well as those who lost their lives there were at least two dozen people injured by the fires, including several who were flown for treatment in Honolulu.
Crews on Maui were battling multiple blazes concentrated in two areas: the tourist destination of West Maui and an inland, mountainous region.
The National Weather Service said Hurricane Dora, which was passing to the south of the island chain at a safe distance of 805 kilometres, was partly to blame for gusts above 97 kph that knocked out power, rattled homes and grounded firefighting helicopters. Aircraft resumed flights on Wednesday as the strong winds diminished somewhat.
The Coast Guard on Tuesday rescued 14 people including two children, who had fled into the ocean to escape the fire and smoky conditions, the county said in a statement.
There was no count available for the number of structures that have burned or the number of people who have evacuated.
Kahului Airport, the main airport in Maui, was sheltering 2,000 travellers whose flights were cancelled or who recently arrived on the island.
The fires weren't only burning on Maui.
There have been no reports of injuries or homes lost to three wildfires burning on Hawaii's Big Island, Mayor Mitch Roth said on Wednesday.
Fires in Hawaii are unlike many of those burning in the US West. They tend to break out in large grasslands on the dry sides of the islands and are generally much smaller than mainland fires.
A major fire on the Big Island in 2021 burned homes and forced thousands to evacuate.
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