Passengers at Sacramento airport returning from Maui describe 'war zone' wildfire
Two planes full of passengers from Maui arrived in Sacramento on Wednesday while a deadly wildfire continued to burn through the island community.
The first flight — Hawaiian Airlines — landed at the Sacramento International Airport shortly before 7 p.m. A second flight from Southwest landed shortly after 8 p.m.
Some of those passengers who spoke with KCRA 3 said they were told to evacuate in the middle of the night when the fire started.
The fire reduced much of the historic town of Lahaina to ash and rubble, even forcing some people to jump into the ocean to get away from the flames. At least six people died and dozens were wounded.
Get the latest details with the wildfire here.
Bruce Ratzlaff, who was on one of those flights that landed at SMF, said he helped build some of those commercial structures in Lahaina. But now, all of them are destroyed.
"It's tragic," Ratzlaff said. "I mean, the Pioneer Inn, the oldest hotel in Lahaina, will never be rebuilt. It's never going to be the same as it was, so it's pretty tragic for Hawaii."
Sabrina Wilson said her power went on Monday, and on Tuesday, she woke up to seeing smoke and fire everywhere.
"We thought it was contained, but it must have jumped the highway, and it got really close," Wilson said.
Aerial video revealed entire blocks of homes and businesses flattened, including on Front Street, a popular shopping and dining area. Other images portray a scene of near-complete devastation. Smoking heaps of rubble lay piled high next to the waterfront and gray smoke hovered over the leafless skeletons of scorched trees.
-The Associated Press contributed to this reporting.