The death toll from a terrifying wildfire that razed a historic Hawaiian town hit 53, making it one of the deadliest disasters to strike the islands since they became a US state.

"In 1960 we had 61 fatalities when a large wave came through Big Island," Governor Josh Green said on Thursday, referring to a tragedy that struck a year after Hawaii became the 50th US state.

"This time, it's very likely that our death totals will significantly exceed that."

Officials in Maui County said on Thursday the confirmed number of dead now stood at 53, and firefighters were still battling the blaze.

"There is no doubt everyone would describe this as though a bomb hit Lahaina," he said.

"It looks like total devastation; buildings that we've all enjoyed and celebrated together for decades, for generations, are completely destroyed."

Thousands left homeless

Thousands of people have been left homeless by the wildfire that raced through a Hawaiian town, the governor said.

"We are going to need to house thousands of people," Josh Green told reporters.

"That will mean reaching out to all of our hotels and those in the community, to ask people to rent those extra rooms."

Lahaina on Thursday lay in charred, smoking ruins, with Green saying 80 percent of the town was gone.

Brushfires on the west coast of Hawaii's Maui island — fueled by high winds from a nearby hurricane — broke out on Tuesday and rapidly engulfed the seaside town of Lahaina.

The flames moved so quickly that many were caught off-guard, trapped in the streets or jumping into the ocean in a desperate bid to escape.