Image source, reuters

A Maui County official says she believes the estimate of 1,000 people missing could be “somewhat exaggerated”.

"We have no confirmation of that many number of people missing as of right now," Alice Lee, chair of the local council, told the BBC's Newsday programme.

Authorities had earlier said they had no exact number but believed the missing was around that number- adding that some could just be uncontactable.

Lee said that since winds have died down and there's even been some rain, there is hope the fires could slow down.

She added that thousands of people in west Maui – the area worst affected by the fires – will now be out of work.

“We’re in a very difficult situation,” she said. “Luckily for us we have a very strong community, everybody’s trying to help each other, and we know we can make it through this difficulty – but yes it’s going to take several years."

Malika Dudley, a meteorologist who works for a television station on Maui, has described the grim situation to BBC Breakfast.

She had spoken to one woman who'd jumped over a seawall into the ocean, where she remained for seven hours to escape the flames. The woman’s neighbour died next to her in the water, she said.

Another woman said she had seen bodies in charred cars as they tried to escape Lahaina.

“It’s a really dire situation, as we begin to hear stories from these survivors who literally had to run for their lives,” Dudley said.

She herself had just learnt her home was still standing, but elsewhere on the island people are “still very much on edge”.

Major wildfires are still burning across Maui, while neighbouring Big Island is also grappling with blazes although officials say these are under control.

If you’re just joining us, here's what you need to know:

• In a press conference held in the last few hours, Hawaii's governor called the fires the “largest natural disaster in Hawaii state history" and said 80% of historic town Lahaina is "gone"
• A total of 53 bodies have been recovered. Governor Josh Green warned: “We will continue to see loss of life."
• Authorities estimate about 1,000 people are still missing, although many could be out of reach due to downed communication lines
• In Lahaina in the west, the blaze ripped through the town so quickly survivors had to jump into the sea to avoid the flames

• None of the fires on Maui are 100% contained and conditions remain dangerous and unpredictable, firefighters say

• Tens of thousands of tourists have been evacuated and 11,000 people are without power on the western half of the island

• President Joe Biden has declared the fires a major disaster, meaning the federal government will provide rescue and recovery funds

Max Matza
Reporting from Maui

Earlier, I spoke with mother-of-three Tee Dang, who jumped with her kids into the ocean to escape the flames at Laihana.

Dang said her family all said goodbye to each other in the water as they were certain they would die.

At one point, her daughter fainted in the water.

“We saw a firefighter come. He was helping people up and I just screamed ‘I have a child. I have a child’,” she said.

Leading a group of 15-20 survivors, the firefighter told them: "I don’t even know if we’re gonna make it at this point. Just do everything I say. If I say jump, jump. If I tell you to run, run."

After reaching shelter at the Maui Prep School, she was forced to move twice more.

Once because the first shelter came under threat from the flames, and later because the shelter did not have enough medical supplies to help her.

On vacation from Kansas, she says her family has previously visited the island of Oahu when they come to Hawaii. Now she can't wait to get home and begin the process of recovering from her ordeal.

Read more about the family's experience.

We're nearing the end of a third day of wildfires, still burning across the central island of Maui and to a lesser extent on Hawaii's Big Island.

The blaze was most intense along the western coast of Maui, gutting Lahaina, a popular tourist town and destroying hundreds of homes.

That fire is now about 80% contained, authorities said.

In the middle of the island, the Pulehu fire has been 70% contained. Officials are still assessing a third blaze in Upcountry Maui.

On neighbouring Big Island, there are at least three big blazes there too but officials on Thursday said they were under control.

Max Matza
Reporting from Maui

I spoke to the chat show host Oprah Winfrey - who is a resident of Maui herself - earlier today at an evacuation centre in Maui's north, where many Lahaina residents have fled to.

She was handing out bedding and diapers to families in the stadium, after earlier asking people what they needed.

Visibly lost for words at points, she called the situation on the island "overwhelming".

Hawaii has experienced wildfires before, but none like this.

Governor Josh Green earlier today said this is most likely "the largest disaster in state history".

We don't yet know exactly what sparked the blazes, but we do know a combination of conditions - which authorities say are exacerbated by climate change - have made them worse.

Hurricane winds and dry weather helped fuel the flames.

And drought or abnormally dry conditions across large parts of Hawaii - including the entire island of Maui - also played a role.

Read more about the triggers here.

We've been hearing from local residents and authorities about the devastation in Lahaina.

Hawaii Governor Josh Green compared it to a bomb blast, saying the entire town would have to be rebuilt.

The sheer extent of the damage can be seen in aerial footage shot from a helicopter.

At the afternoon press conference, the fire chief said none of the fires on Maui were fully contained yet. But firefighters are making progress.

An update from Maui County authorities, external hours earlier said the Lahaina fire - which razed much of the popular tourist town - is 80% contained.

Further to the east, the Pulehu fire has been 70% contained.

Officials are still assessing a third major fire in the island’s Upcountry area.

Hundreds of acres of land have been burned, authorities say.

Earlier we had an update on the number of tourists evacuated since Tuesday.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority says more than 14,000 visitors were moved off the island of Maui on Wednesday - either to go home or to carry on their holiday elsewhere in Hawaii.

By the end of today in Hawaii (it's just past 18:00 Thursday local time), they estimate another 14,500 people will have been moved out.

As tourists and residents are evacuated from the island, they are being given temporary accommodation at a convention centre.

About 288,000 tourists have visited Maui since this summer began- one of several islands which make up the state of Hawaii.

Max Matza
BBC News, reporting from Maui

I just spoke to Maui's most famous resident, chat show host Oprah Winfrey.

She told me she had visited this evacuation site at the war memorial stadium earlier today to find out what people needed.

"Often you make donations of clothes and it's not really what people need, you know," she said.

After a shopping trip, she returned with pillows, diapers, and shampoo. She has been handing them out to people on their cots and air mattresses.

Max Matza
BBC News, reporting from Maui

I’ve just arrived at the War Memorial Stadium on the northern side of Maui, which is being used as a shelter for evacuees who are continuing to flood in. A queue of at least 100 cars stretches from the entrance.

Volunteers are helping people check in and find places to settle down on air mattresses, which have filled the gymnasium and the shade outside.

Traditional Hawaiian music is being played and local treats like shaved ice are being distributed. Acupuncture and free massages are also on offer.

Doctors have been coming and going, providing medical relief, and even celebrity TV host Oprah - a Maui resident - has dropped in.

Tom Leonard, pictured below, has lived in Lahaina for 44 years. He’s been staying at the stadium for the past two days after losing all of his possessions and has no idea where he’ll go next.

"There’s nothing left over there. It’s gonna take years."

Image source, BBC News

Image source, Reuters

That press conference on the unfolding disaster on Maui went for over an hour, so if you're joining us now, here's a recap:

• A total of 53 bodies have been recovered so far and the death toll is expect to rise

• Authorities don't know exactly how many are missing - they estimate about 1000- and downed communication lines are making it difficult to locate people
• Thousands of people have been displaced after hundreds of homes were burned, mainly in the western seaside town of Lahauna

• None of the fires burning currently are 100% contained, say fire authorities
• But already this is "likely the largest disaster in state history" says Hawaii's governor
• He called for 2,000 rooms to house evacuees and for citizens to provide shelter if they can
• Evacuees have also been warned to not return home, as the fire zones remain hazardous and conditions are unpredictable

The press conference with authorities has ended. They've promised to provide "routine" updates as the recovery continues.

We'll bring you a summary of what we just learned shortly.

Asked about differing estimates on the total number of dead, Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said: "We've recovered 53 people."

That means the confirmed death toll in Lahaina remains at 53, as the county declared earlier.

"If the mayor or myself do not give you that number, it's not accurate," he said.

"We're going to take our time we're going to do it right.

"I do not know what the final number is going to be. It's going to be horrible and tragic."

Asked about how long the recovery will take, Governor Green said it will take many years to rebuild Lahaina, the epicentre of the blaze on the western side of the island of Maui.

"When you see the full extent of the destruction of Lahaina, it will shock you," he said.

"All of those buildings virtually are going to have to be rebuilt. It will be a new Lahaina that Maui builds, in its own image, with its own values."

He added the cost will run into the "billions of dollars".

He also said, given global warming's impact on wildfires, fire safety will have to be a consideration when Lahaina is rebuilt.

The Maui police chief says authorities don't know exactly how many are missing - but he thinks it is approximately about 1,000 people.

"That doesn't mean that's how many... that have passed," John Pelletier said, adding that many could be in shelters or just unable to be contacted.

Power and internet are down for many across the island, which is complicating efforts to locate people.

The several large fires raging across Maui since Tuesday have burned through hundreds of acres, says fire chief Brad Ventura.

"None of the fires are 100% contained right now."

Many small fires have also cropped up, forcing firefighters to "triage" their resources to deal with all the blazes.

Conditions are still dangerous, and Ventura urged people to stay out of the burn zones.

"It's still very very hazardous... things are falling every minute around us, and there have been some people that have been hurt."

County of Maui Mayor Richard Bissen addressed those whose homes have not been damaged by the fires but who have evacuated.

"I know the question on your mind is: When can I get back to my home?," he said.

He encourages people to wait until "we have recovered those that have perished".

"Please allow us to complete this process before we allow people back into their homes," Bissen says.