Death toll from U.S. Hawaii wildfire rises to 80

The death toll from wildfires burning in the U.S. state of Hawaii has jumped to 80 as of 9 p.m. local time Friday, Maui County said in an updated notice.

The causes of the deadly fires, which started on Tuesday night, have not yet been determined. The Maui County Government said firefighters were trying to extinguish flare-ups and contain wildfires in Lahaina and two other areas of the island on Friday.

Maui Island is the second largest island of the Hawaii archipelago, spanning around 1,900 square kilometres and with a population of around 120,000 people. The fires follow other extreme weather events in North America this summer, with record-breaking wildfires still burning across Canada and a major heat wave baking the US southwest.