Maui flames kill at least six people and destroy homes.

KAHULUI, Hawaii (AP) — In the dead of night, a wildfire ripped through the heart of the Hawaiian island of Maui, burning most of a historic town to ash and prompting residents to jump into the water to escape the flames. Six people were killed, scores were injured, and 271 structures were damaged or destroyed.

The fires raged on Wednesday afternoon, fuelled by strong gusts from Hurricane Dora, which passed far south of the Hawaiian islands. Officials were concerned that the death toll might climb.

"This is a deeply somber day," Maui Mayor Richard Bissen remarked. "The tragedy of losing any life is profound. As we mourn with their families, we offer prayers for comfort during this difficult time."

As the winds eased, some aircraft resumed flying, allowing pilots to see the full extent of the carnage. According to Mahina Martin, a Maui County spokesman, flyovers over the seaside hamlet of Lahaina by the US Civil Air Patrol and the Maui Fire Department revealed the extent of the destruction.

Aerial video showed scores of homes and businesses in Lahaina destroyed, including on Front Street, a popular shopping and dining destination for tourists. Smoking rubble mounds were piled high along the waterfront, boats in the harbor were burnt, and gray smoke lingered over the leafless skeletons of charred trees.

"It's frightening. "I've been flying here for 52 years and I've never seen anything like it," said Richard Olsten, a tour business helicopter pilot. "We all had tears in our eyes, the other pilots on board, the mechanics, and me."

Acting Gov. Sylvia Luke said the fires "wiped out communities," and she asked people to avoid the area.

"This is not a safe place to be," she declared.

According to an update from the county, Maui officials asked guests to depart Lahaina, and the island was preparing a "mass bus evacuation" Wednesday afternoon to take travelers directly to the airport.

According to the county, West Maui is still without cell or landline phone service, as well as electricity.

According to Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara, adjutant general for the Hawaii State Department of Defense, a combination of circumstances, including high winds, low humidity, and dry foliage, likely led to the conflagration. Climate change, according to experts, is also increasing the likelihood of more catastrophic weather.

"Climate change in many parts of the world is increasing vegetation dryness, in large part because temperatures are hotter," said Erica Fleishman, head of Oregon State University's Oregon Climate Change Research Institute. "Even if you get the same amount of precipitation, if you have higher temperatures, things dry out faster."

The wind-driven blaze surged into the region at breakneck speed, scorching through intersections and jumping across wooden structures in the Lahaina town center, which dates from the 1700s and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

"It was apocalyptic from what they explained," Tiare Lawrence said of the 14 cousins and uncles who fled town and sought safety at her home in Pukalani, east of Lahaina.

Keeaumoku Kapu, a Lahaina resident, was tying down loose artifacts in the wind at the cultural center he operates when his wife arrived Tuesday afternoon and informed him they needed to flee. "Right at that time, things got crazy, the wind started picking up," Kapu said, adding that they got out "in the middle of nowhere."

They spotted fire and billowing smoke two blocks distant. Kapu rushed into his pickup truck with his wife and a friend. "By the time we turned around, our building was already on fire," he explained. "It was just that quick."

According to Mahina Martin, a spokesperson for Maui County, crews were battling three fires on Maui: in Lahaina, south Maui's Kihei district, and the rugged, inland areas known as Upcountry.

At least two homes were destroyed Tuesday in the Upcountry village of Kula by a fire that covered about 1.7 square miles (4.5 square kilometers), according to County of Maui Mayor Richard Bissen Jr.

Mayor Mitch Roth said Wednesday that there have been no reports of casualties or properties lost as a result of three wildfires raging on Hawaii's Big Island. A few roof fires were put out by firefighters.

The National Weather Service said Hurricane Dora, which was moving to the south of the island chain at a safe distance of 500 miles (805 kilometers), was partly to blame for gusts of more than 60 mph (97 kph) on Maui, knocking out power, rattling homes, and stranding firefighting helicopters.

The Coast Guard rescued 14 individuals, including two children, who had run into the ocean to escape the fire and smoky conditions on Tuesday, according to a county statement.