Maui wildfires are devastating the island

Fueled by winds from Hurricane Dora in the Pacific, fires are burning across the Hawaiian island of Maui. The main town, Lahaina, is essentially gone - homes, businesses, hotels, and historic buildings. The world’s largest banyan tree, over 150 years old and covering approximately half a kilometer, sits in the center of Lahaina and is said to be seriously scorched. No report yet on the museum of Maui’s history and culture.

People have lost their homes. So far, 36 people have died. The coast guard has been rescuing people who, to escape the flames, have run into the ocean. The fires are still burning.

Quote from SpaceNut

Personally I’m beginning to believe that some fires like this one are started deliberately. I can’t fathom an island having such a problem with wildfires, considering that the climate shouldn’t really be that hot to cause a fire

Severe drought for the past year had dried out the expansive fields. Hurricane Dora supplied strong winds and lots of oxygen. The cause of the initial spark hasn’t yet been determined, but I’d say the chances this was deliberately set are very low.

Quote from UK Man

Looks as if they could have done with outside help much earlier.

Outside help takes awhile to reach an island sitting out in the Pacific Ocean. Keep in mind that the only nearby help would have come from neighbor islands which were also fighting the sudden fires.

Coordinated arson, with accomplices on neighbor islands? Pretty far-fetched.

This is being called the 2nd worst fire in US history. My heart breaks for the people in Maui, where we’ve spent part of the year, almost every year for the past 35.

Now that the confirmed deaths are already at 89, the Maui wildfire is the number one worst fire in modern American history. Tragic.

Tragic.

In Maui, officials are blaming the electric company for not deactivating power lines, and spreading the fire. If human error turns out to be the cause of all that devastation, bad enough. Fortunately, no serious voices there are suggesting arson.