The death toll from wildfires on Hawaii's Maui Island rose to 53 on Thursday as the fast-moving conflagration that turned the resort town of Lahaina into smoldering ruins was 80 percent contained, officials said.

The island was caught off guard by at least three major fires that broke out Tuesday night, cutting off the western side of the island and the historic city of Lahaina, where more than 270 structures were destroyed or damaged.

Many more people suffered burns, smoke inhalation and other injuries. Search and rescue efforts continue, and thousands of people have fled into emergency shelters or left the island.

The wildfires took most of Lahaina's residents and visitors by surprise, forcing some to jump into the ocean to escape the fast-moving inferno. Thousands of tourists were trying to leave Maui, many of them camped in the airport waiting for flights.

Worst disaster Hawaii suffers since 1960

The fires were the worst disaster to befall Hawaii since 1960, one year after it became a U.S. state, when a tsunami killed 61 people.

The fate of some of Lahaina's cultural treasures remains unclear. The historic 60-foot (18-meter)-tall banyan tree marking the spot where Hawaiian King Kamehameha III's 19th-century palace stood was still standing, though some of its boughs appeared charred. 

"We will need to rebuild the entirety of Lahaina, I believe," Governor Josh Green told KHON 2 television.

U.S. President Joe Biden approved a disaster declaration for Hawaii, allowing affected individuals and business owners to apply for federal housing and economic recovery grants.

The cause of the Maui wildfires has yet to be determined, officials said, but the National Weather Service said dry vegetation, strong winds, and low humidity fueled them.

Wildfires occur every year in Hawaii, according to Thomas Smith, an environmental geography professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science, but this year's fires are burning faster and bigger than usual.

The Big Island of Hawaii also experienced at least two major brush fires.

Scenes of fiery devastation have become all too familiar elsewhere in the world this summer. Wildfires, often caused by record-setting heat, forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people in Greece, Spain, Portugal and other parts of Europe. In western Canada, a series of unusually severe fires sent clouds of smoke over vast swaths of the U.S., polluting the air.

Human-caused climate change, driven by fossil fuel use, is increasing the frequency and intensity of such extreme weather events, scientists say, having long warned that countries must slash emissions to prevent climate catastrophe.

(With input from Reuters)