A wildfire tore through the heart of the Hawaiian island of Maui on Wednesday, reducing much of a historic town to ash and forcing people to jump into the ocean to flee the flames. At least six people died, dozens were wounded and 271 structures were damaged or destroyed.

The fires continued to burn throughout the day, fueled by strong winds from Hurricane Dora as it passed well south of the Hawaiian islands. Officials fear the death toll could rise.

“This is a deeply somber day,” Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said. “The gravity of losing any life is tragic. As we grieve with their families, we offer prayers for comfort in this inconsolable time.”

As winds diminished somewhat, some aircraft resumed flights, enabling pilots to view the full scope of the devastation. Flyovers of the coastal town of Lahaina by the US Civil Air Patrol and the Maui Fire Department showed the extent of the loss, said Mahina Martin, a spokesperson for Maui County.

Aerial video showed dozens of homes and businesses in Lahaina flattened, including on Front Street, where tourists gathered to shop and dine. Smoking heaps of rubble lay piled high next to the waterfront, boats in the harbor were scorched, and gray smoke hovered over the leafless skeletons of charred trees.

Acting Governor Sylvia Luke said the flames “wiped out communities," and asked travelers to stay away.

Maui officials urged visitors to leave Lahaina, and the island was organizing a “mass bus evacuation” Wednesday afternoon to take people directly to the airport, according to an update from the county.

The exact cause of the wildfire couldn’t be determined, but a number of factors, including high winds, low humidity and dry vegetation, likely contributed, said Major General Kenneth Hara, adjutant general for Hawaii State Department of Defense. Experts also said climate change is increasing the likelihood of more extreme weather.

The wind-driven conflagration swept into the area with alarming speed and ferocity, blazing through intersections and leaping across wooden buildings in the Lahaina town center, which dates to the 1700s.

“It was apocalyptic from what they explained,” Tiare Lawrence said of 14 cousins and uncles who fled the town and took refuge at her home in Pukalani, east of Lahaina. (AP)