Hawaii Governor Josh Green said the fires were the 'largest natural disaster in Hawaii state history' and that 80% of the beach-front town had 'gone' - satellite images gave an immediate sense of the scale of the damage.
Hawaiian officials are braced for a significant rise in the death toll from the fast-spreading wildfires, which caused devastation on the island of Maui and destroyed most of the historic town of Lahaina.
The fires are now reported to be under control, but efforts to fully extinguish them continue on some parts of the island.Hundreds of people who fled their homes in Lahaina have been taking cover in an emergency shelter. About 2,700 homes are reported to have been destroyed. The town's lighthouse has survived but most of the surrounding buildings were destroyed, including the oldest hotel in Hawaii - the 122-year-old Pioneer Inn.The centre of Lahaina dated back to the 1700s and was on the US National Register of Historic Places - it was once Hawaii's capital.
"Michelle and I are thinking of everyone who has lost a loved one, or whose life has been turned upside down."Before and after images showing damage to a section of seafrontThe fires also destroyed many natural features on the island - there are fears for Lahaina's banyan tree, the oldest in Hawaii, and one of the oldest in the US.
The blaze ripped through the town so quickly that some people jumped into the harbour to escape the flames and smoke.The flames were fanned by gusts of wind of up to 65mph that hit the islands last week as Hurricane Dora passed about 700 miles south of Hawaii.Drought or abnormally dry conditions across large parts of Hawaii - including the entire island of Maui - also played a role.
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