More sinister still, while the flames on Maui still burned, residents reported being contacted by developers and investors offering to buy their land from them.

“I am so frustrated with inventors and realtors calling the families who lost their home offering to buy their land,” one local said in a video for local charity, Kāko'o Haleakalā. “How dare you do that to our community right now.”

Hawaii governor Josh Green released a statement warning developers against predatory land buying. He announced that the Hawaii state government was considering securing land in Lahaina (pictured) "to protect it for our local people so it’s not stolen by people on the mainland."

He estimates Hawaii lost $5.6 billion (£4.6bn) due to damage from the fires. Rebuilding costs are likely to reach several billion dollars, in part due to high labour costs and because much of the building materials will have to be shipped in from the mainland US, CNN reported.

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