Maui residents recounted hearing “screams of horror” as wildfires engulfed areas of the Hawaiian island.

Residents of Lahaina, a resort town on the island, were told to jump into the ocean as flames approached the town.

Ydriss Nouara told Sky News that police told him to jump into the sea as they could not rescue him from the encroaching flames.

“The ocean was pulling us, we had debris falling on us, we were trying to get wet and not burn,” Nouara said, adding he was in the water for around three hours before being rescued.