Flames ripped through the historic town of Lahaina on Maui, racing down the Front Street commercial district, on Tuesday night and into Wednesday as a wind-fueled brush fire that ignited earlier in the day grew out of control. The fire burned so fast that people jumped into the water to escape the flames, and the town was cut off except for one road.

“Lahaina Town on Maui is almost totally burnt to the ground,” Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, wrote in social media Wednesday. “Firefighters are still trying to get the fires under control, and our first responders are in search and rescue mode.”

Maui County officials said Wednesday evening that some 271 structures in the Lahaina area were impacted by fire. “Widespread damage to the West Maui town, the harbor and surrounding areas are being documented,” a statement from the county said.

A video from the Associated Press showed the fire racing through the town center that’s on the National Register of Historic Places and known for its renovated buildings dating back to the 1800s, when Lahaina was the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii. With restaurants, shops and museums sitting around a picturesque boat-filled harbor, Lahaina has long been one of Hawaii’s most treasured tourist destinations. 

“Much of Lahaina on Maui has been destroyed and hundreds of local families have been displaced,” Gov. Josh Green said in a statement issued Wednesday morning.

“We’ve had many dwellings, businesses structures that have had been burned, many of them to the ground,” Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen Jr. said in a press conference Wednesday. The mayor added that it was “impossible to know” the exact number of buildings that have been destroyed, as firefighters continued to battle three main blazes on the island. 

“We’re still in the assessment phase this morning now that we have light, so I don’t want to take a guess at the number,” he said. “But it is quite, it is going to be a high number.”

Six people have died on Maui due to the fires, and Bissen said that number could grow. The power continued to be out in West Maui, and Bissen said there was no cell service or internet due to downed and damaged lines. On Wednesday morning, the Lahaina fire continued to have flare-ups and fires in Kihei, and the Upcountry Maui continued to burn. 

Maui County officials reported Tuesday evening that “multiple structures have burned,” and on Wednesday, news of specific businesses and buildings that were destroyed began to emerge. Maui News reported that the hall of the historic Waiola Church and the nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission temple were engulfed in flames. Best Western Hotels shared in a statement that the Pioneer Inn, housed in a historic building constructed in 1901, was lost. 

The Baldwin Home, the oldest house on Maui, burned, CNN reported. The 1834 building originally served as a residence for missionaries and was most recently a museum. The Hakuna Matata Maui reported that its hostel was devoured by fire, and Best Western Hotels confirmed the 1901 Pioneer Inn was lost.

The extent of the damage to Front Street businesses is also unknown. “We do not know the condition of Front Street, what has burned, what is still standing,” Cheeseburger in Paradise, a Lahaina eatery on Front Street, posted on Facebook on Wednesday. Old Lahaina Luau, also on Front Street, posted on Facebook late Tuesday that it had been without power for almost 16 hours and was canceling luaus on Tuesday night and Wednesday. The business did not provide an update on whether there was any damage. 

Emergency 911 service in West Maui, including Lahaina, was down Wednesday, and county officials advised people to text 911 or call the Lahaina Police Department at 808-661-4441 instead. The County of Maui tweeted, “Do NOT go to Lahaina Town,” hours before all roads in and out of West Maui’s biggest community were closed to everyone except emergency personnel. Later in the day, the county said all roads into West Maui were closed. 

Clint Hansen, a real estate agent, was in Lahaina with a client late Tuesday afternoon. Hansen said the fires were outside town at that point, but the winds were picking up. He later heard about the devastation from friends and through video footage posted to social media. 

“I have friends who work the boats in Lahaina, and it was all hands on deck to rescue people who were jumping into the ocean to escape flames,” Hansen told SFGATE on the phone Wednesday.

Alan Dickar said he’s not sure what remains of his Vintage European Posters gallery, which was a fixture on Front Street in Lahaina for 23 years. Before evacuating with three friends and two cats, Dickar recorded video of flames engulfing the main strip of shops and restaurants frequented by tourists.

“Every significant thing I owned burned down today,” he said. “I’ll be OK. I got out safely.”

Dickar, who assumed the three houses he owns are destroyed, said it will take a heroic effort to rebuild what has burned in Lahaina, which is home to about 13,000 people.

“Everyone who comes to Maui, the one place that everybody goes is Front Street,” he said. “The central two blocks is the economic heart of this island, and I don’t know what’s left.”

This breaking news story has been updated.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.