'It was a firestorm': Vancouver man with home on Maui describes devastation on island

A Vancouver man who lives part time on the Hawaiian island of Maui has described how an enormous “firestorm” engulfed the town of Lahaina, where at least 53 people were killed by the devastating blaze.

A Vancouver man who lives part time on the Hawaiian island of Maui has described how an enormous “firestorm” engulfed the town of Lahaina, where at least 53 people were killed by the devastating blaze.

Brad Desaulniers, 61, has owned a home in Kihei, about 30 kilometres from Lahaina, for 20 years.

He said he watched smoke rising over the water and hills that separate the two towns.

“It was a firestorm,” Desaulniers said in a phone interview from Kihei. “There was an entire firestorm that was two miles wide and two miles deep that just raced across and destroyed everything in its path.”

“There have been more and more wildfires in Maui for the last 10 years, but nothing like this. Some of the people who've been here through some of the volcano issues have said this dwarfs anything that's ever come out of the volcano.”

The wildfire, fuelled by a dry summer and strong winds from a passing hurricane, ignited Tuesday and quickly raced through a number of communities on Maui's west coast.

Hawaii's Governor Josh Green said Thursday that the death toll was 53 and likely to rise. Officials with Maui County said dozens more were injured and more than 270 structures were damaged or destroyed.