People in Hawaii flee into ocean to escape wildfire destroying Maui tourist town

Wildfires have raced through parts of Hawaii, forcing evacuations and leading some to flee to the relative safety of the ocean, where they were rescued by the Coast Guard.

Fire was widespread in Lahaina Town, including on Front Street, a shopping and dining area that is popular with tourists, County of Maui spokesperson Mahina Martin said.

Traffic has been very heavy as people try to evacuate the area, and officials asked people who were not in an evacuation area to shelter in place to avoid adding to the traffic, she said.

Photos posted by the county overnight showed a line of flames blazing across an intersection and leaping above buildings in the town centre that dates to the 1700s and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

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“Do not go to Lahaina Town,” the county tweeted hours before all roads in and out of West Maui’s biggest community were closed to everyone except emergency personnel.

Crews on Maui were battling multiple blazes concentrated in two areas: the tourist destination of West Maui and an inland, mountainous region. In West Maui, 911 service was out and residents were directed to call the police department directly.

The National Weather Service said Hurricane Dora, which was passing to the south of the island chain at a safe distance of 500 miles, was partly to blame for gusts above 60 mph that knocked out power, rattled homes and grounded firefighting helicopters.

The strong winds were expected to diminish later, but there was little chance of rain to aid firefighters, the weather service said.

The Coast Guard on Tuesday responded to areas where people had fled into the ocean to escape the fire and smoky conditions, the county said in a statement.

The Coast Guard tweeted that a crew rescued 12 people from the water off Lahaina.

Burns patients have been flown to the island of Oahu, according to Honolulu Emergency Services Department spokesperson Shayne Enright.

She could not confirm how many patients were flown in from Maui, but she said a woman in her 60s was transported to a Honolulu hospital burn centre in critical condition.

Authorities said earlier that a firefighter in Maui was taken to hospital in stable condition after inhaling smoke.

Acting Gov Sylvia Luke issued an emergency proclamation on behalf of Gov Josh Green – who is travelling – and activated the Hawaii National Guard to assist.

Officials were not aware of any deaths, Ms Martin said. There is no count available for the number of structures that have burned or the number of people who have evacuated, but Ms Martin said there were four shelters open and that more than 1,000 people were at the largest.

“This is so unprecedented,” Ms Martin said, noting that multiple districts were affected. An emergency in the night is terrifying, she said, and the darkness makes it hard to gauge the extent of the damage.

“Right now it is all-hands-on-deck and we are anxious for daybreak,” she said.

Kahului Airport, the main airport in Maui, was sheltering 2,000 travellers whose flights were cancelled or who recently arrived on the island, the county said.