Canadians returning from Maui have told of harrowing scenes during their escape from the fire-devastated Hawaiian island.

Among the evacuees was British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Matthew Taylor who drove through the ruined town of Lahaina on Thursday and said it resembled a 含羞草研究社渨ar zone.含羞草研究社�

Taylor, who arrived in Vancouver Friday morning on an Air Canada ferry flight, said buildings on both sides of the highway out of Lahaina had been 含羞草研究社渞azed to the ground.含羞草研究社�

含羞草研究社淒riving through Lahaina was absolutely shocking. It was really, really sad,含羞草研究社� said Taylor.

Officials in Hawaii say at least 67 people died this week after wildfires erupted on Maui in the state含羞草研究社檚 deadliest natural disaster in decades, surpassing a 1960 tsunami that killed 61 people.

Gov. Josh Green has warned that the death toll will likely rise as search and rescue operations continue.

Taylor had travelled to Maui with his family for a vacation on Monday night, staying north of Lahaina. They arrived to perilous scenes even before the fire, with high winds bringing down power lines and falling branches striking their car on a drive to pick up groceries.

含羞草研究社淭here were shingles coming off the roofs. It was scary. There were branches hitting our car and a long line of cars not barely moving,含羞草研究社� said Taylor.

It was the high winds that whipped up the wildfire and drove it over Lahaina, Hawaii officials say.

Taylor said that power and cellular communication went down where they were staying on Wednesday. It was then that a property manager told the family that Lahaina had been destroyed.

The family decided to leave but was hampered by the lack of cellphone service.

含羞草研究社淧eople were finding little areas out on the peninsula where they were waving their phones, just trying to get one or two bars (of reception),含羞草研究社� said Taylor.

Taylor said he eventually managed to get one bar on his phone, allowing him to book seats on Air Canada含羞草研究社檚 second ferry flight out of the stricken island.

Other evacuees described chaotic scenes after the fire.

Ontario resident Jessie Watkins said they were given little warning before fire engulfed the town.

含羞草研究社淚t just happened so fast 含羞草研究社� the problem was the wind was so strong that all the power lines were gone down, and all the roads were closed. So you couldn含羞草研究社檛 escape,含羞草研究社� said Watkins, who was on the same flight as Taylor. 含羞草研究社淵ou could see the fire coming at you.含羞草研究社�

Alberta resident Annette Burton said it was 含羞草研究社渁 very surreal含羞草研究社� experience in once-bustling Maui after the fire.

含羞草研究社淓verything was shut down. Lahaina was like a ghost town. There were no businesses open. There was nowhere to eat,含羞草研究社� said Burton, who arrived in Vancouver Friday morning on a WestJet ferry flight.

Air Canada said it was planning to send a third empty ferry flight to Maui on Friday night to bring back passengers to Vancouver Saturday morning.

WestJet said it had cancelled three flights from Vancouver to Maui含羞草研究社檚 Kahului airport due to the fires and safety considerations.

含羞草研究社淲e are working to notify all impacted guests and encourage them to check the status of their flights before heading to the airport,含羞草研究社� WestJet said in a statement.

WestJet said it had returned Maui evacuees to Vancouver on flights that arrived Thursday and Friday morning, with an additional recovery flight scheduled to arrive late Friday.

Global Affairs Canada has issued an advisory telling Canadians to avoid non-essential travel to Maui.

The advisory also warned that Canadians already on the island should consider if they really need to be there, and if not to 含羞草研究社渢hink about leaving.含羞草研究社�

Taylor, now home in Vancouver, said his heart goes out to residents of Maui.

含羞草研究社淚 don含羞草研究社檛 know what the residents are going to do. There are no groceries there, people were running out of food,含羞草研究社� he said.

含羞草研究社� With files from The Associated Press

Nono Shen, The Canadian Press

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