Hawaii wildfires burn historic town of Lahaina to the ground

Wildfires have devastated the historic town of Lahaina on Hawaii’s island of Maui.

The wildfires have been fanned by hurricane winds, and hospitals are overwhelmed with burn patients and people suffering from smoke inhalation. 

US senator Brian Schatz said on social media that the town is “almost totally burnt to the ground.” 

At least 36 people have died as wildfires rage across Maui County in Hawaii, officials say.

“Firefighters are still trying to get the fires under control, and our first responders are in search and rescue mode,” Mr Schatz said.

The US Coast Guard has said it rescued at least a doen people from the water after some people jumped into the ocean to escape the fast spreading wildfires. 

“It looks like something out of a movie, a war movie,” resident Chrissy Lovitt told Hawaii News Now.

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