‘It looks like a war zone’: Lahaina residents tell of wildfire ‘nightmare’

Survivors describe devastating scene in historic Maui town, with areas burned to the ground by wildfire that has killed at least 53

Witnesses have described the horror of the Maui wildfires that have killed at least 53 people and appeared to have burned much of Lahaina - the Hawaiian kingdom's original seat of power and home to King Kamehameha's palace - to the ground.

Survivors spoke of a scene of devastation in Lahaina, a historic tourist spot, and recounted close calls as the flames reduced part of the town to ruins and took the lives of at least three dozen of their neighbors.