Maui Fires Pictured From Space by NASA Satellite

The scale of the massive blazes affecting much of the Hawaiian island of Maui has been revealed in infrared pictures taken from space.

Images from NASA's Operational Land Imager (OLI) on the Landsat 8 satellite show the wildfires scorching the town of Lahaina, with another active fire burning northwest of Kihei.

The pictures show the fires in infrared light, which helps to highlight the heat coming off the blazes at the time the images were taken.

Four major fires are burning on Maui, and several smaller fires have popped up as well, Maui County Fire Chief Brad Ventura said at a Thursday afternoon news conference.

The death toll from the wildfires has now risen to 55, from an estimated 36 on Wednesday. It's thought that over 1,000 people are still missing in the aftermath of the fires.

"We will continue to see loss of life," Hawaii Governor Josh Green said at a news conference on Thursday, noting that the fire could be one of the worst natural disasters in Hawaiian history.

"It will take time to know the full extent, but it will be in the billions of dollars, without a doubt," he said referencing the financial cost of the blazes.

Many of the deaths were in the historic town of Lahaina, which was once the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Much of the town has been affected by the fire, with more than 270 structures destroyed as of Wednesday, and many locals being driven to jump into the sea in the harbor to escape the flames. As of Thursday, 14 people had been rescued from the ocean by the Coast Guard.

Thousands are still without electricity, and around 30,000 people have been evacuated from Maui so far.

The fires have been exacerbated by drought conditions on the island, paired with strong winds. U.S. Drought Monitor data shows that the southwestern part of Maui was experiencing moderate to severe drought at the time of the fires. The strong winds came as a result of the Category 4 Hurricane Dora that was passing several hundred miles to the south of Hawaii during the week, with gusts reaching up to 67 mph helping to feed the flames.

The winds are now dropping across the archipelago, and many of the fires are being brought under control: the Lahaina fire is now 80 percent contained, according to a Maui County statement.

"We've never experienced a wildfire that affected a city like this before," Green told reporters at the news conference. "Climate change is here. And I think that's what we're seeing."

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