The full extent of the damage may not be known for weeks or even months, said Acting Governor Sylvia Luke.
Satellite images captured the devastation of Maui on Wednesday after a wildfire tore through Lahaina, a popular resort destination on the west coast of the island that was once the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
In an image from Maxar Technologies, the historic Banyan Court area – home to the island’s oldest living banyan tree, 150 years old – appears to have been reduced to ashes.
Other images show similar devastation in and around Lahaina Square, a shopping and neighborhood area in the south of the city.