Burning buildings in Lahaina. Photo: CNN Español

Havana, Aug 13 (RHC) Maui County authorities reported Saturday that at least 80 people died after wildfires swept through a town in the U.S. archipelago of Hawaii this week.

They said 1,418 people were evacuated and taken to emergency shelters, while determining how the fire spread so quickly through the historic tourist area.

Hawaii's attorney general announced that she has opened an investigation into how authorities responded to the devastating wildfires.

The announcement came as criticism grows over the official response to the fires, the most severe of which ravaged the town of Lahaina and reduced it to ashes.

Residents have complained that there were no warnings about the fires, which trapped people in the city.

The fires became the deadliest natural disaster in the state's history, surpassing the tsunami that killed 61 people on Hawaii's Big Island in 1960. (Source: TeleSur)