A state of emergency has been declared in the Hawaiian island complex, where many residents and tourists have run into the sea to escape wildfires raging out of control.

The situation on the island of Maui is dramatic, where at least six people have died, according to Mayor Richard Bissen. Houses and shops were engulfed in flames, while tourists and residents ran into the sea to save themselves. “People are jumping into the water to escape the flames,” Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara told the Hawaii News Now network.

The Coast Guard said it rescued 12 people off Laheina, a popular tourist destination on Maui. “All the boats in the port of Lahaina were burned … It looks like a scene out of a war movie,” said Chrissy Lovett, who is in the area.

Claire Kent, who said her home burned in Lahaina, described to CNN a scene of chaos, with desperate people stuck in traffic and “burning cars on both sides of a road.”

The island’s hospitals have been overwhelmed by burn victims and people with respiratory problems due to smoke inhalation.

The situation is also nightmarish on the island of Hawaii – also known as the Big Island (not to be confused with the American state as a whole).

Amateur videos posted by residents and tourists on social media platforms show the terror and panic in several areas, with flames leaping from paradisiacal palm forests.

About 15,000 households and businesses are without power in Hawaii, according to the specialty website PowerOutage.

The fire fronts were strengthened by the strong winds accompanying Cyclone Dora, which nevertheless passed several hundred kilometers away from the island complex.