Anger was growing Saturday over the official response to a horrific wildfire that leveled a Hawaiian town, killing at least 89 people as it consumed everything in its path.

Over 2,200 structures were damaged or destroyed as the fire tore through Lahaina, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said, wreaking USD 5.5 billion in damage and leaving thousands homeless.

Hawaiian authorities said they were opening a probe into the handling of the inferno as a congresswoman from the state acknowledged that officials had underestimated the danger, and as residents said there had been no warnings.

"The mountain behind us caught on fire and nobody told us jack," Vilma Reed told AFP.

"You know when we found that there was a fire? When it was across the street from us."

Reed, whose house was destroyed by the blaze, said they had fled the flames with what they had in their car, and were now dependent on handouts and the kindness of strangers.

"This is my home now," the 63-year-old said, gesturing to the car she has been sleeping in with her daughter, her grandson and two pet cats.

In the ashy ruins of Lahaina, Anthony Garcia told AFP how the fire had gutted his apartment.

"It took everything, everything! It's heartbreaking," the 80-year-old said. "It's a lot to take in."

The town of more than 12,000, once the proud home of the Hawaiian royal family, has been reduced to ruins, its lively hotels and restaurants turned to ashes.

A majestic banyan tree that has been the center of the community for 150 years has been scarred by the flames, but still stands upright, its branches denuded of green and its sooty trunk transformed into an awkward skeleton.