Wildfires in Maui Hawaii forcing evacuations

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Vash01

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I was in Maui in April (and twice prior to that). In 2021 I was on Big Island. Beautiful islands. So sorry to read about these wildfires!

www.cnn.com

August 9 Maui wildfire news

Evacuations are underway across Hawaii's Big Island and Maui as winds associated with Hurricane Dora are fanning wildfires. Follow the latest news here.
www.cnn.com www.cnn.com

Should this be in the Climate Emergency thread?

ETA- All Hawaiian islands are under Red Flag warning, but west Maui has the biggest fires.

www.nbcnews.com

Hawaiians rescued after fleeing to ocean to escape wildfires

The latest news and live updates on the fires in Lahaina, Maui. The fires were likely brought on by heavy winds from Hurricane Dora.
www.nbcnews.com www.nbcnews.com
 
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Judy said:
Hawaii too?
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Maui seems to have the biggest problem Right now.

Somewhere in the article they mentioned that Big Island/Hawaii and other islands in Hawaii are having wildfires too, but I didn't see any details on those.

ETA- another article. Again, it mentions only Maui. Will try to find out if other islands are burning too.


This is so sad! They are reporting that the town of Lahaina has been destroyed. I had visited it many times as a tourist. Full of shops, restaurants, cruises and tours.

www.hawaiinewsnow.com

At least 36 people confirmed dead in devastating wildfires: Maui County

Hundreds of structures have also been damaged or destroyed.
www.hawaiinewsnow.com www.hawaiinewsnow.com

I hope the historic Banyan tree in Lahaina survives.

Burn patients are being treated in Maui and Oahu hospitals. One is in critical condition. :(
 
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Maui is our favorite of the Hawaiian Islands and we almost always stay close to Lahaina. So sad to see! :(
 
They are reporting fires on Big Island too. Strong winds from the Dora hurricane made the fires spread very fast.

ETA- this is the latest I found. Gifted from NYT. TV has not shown any updates. At least so far no deaths reported. Coastguard saved 12 who had jumped in the ocean to escape the fire. All shelters are full, it seems. No power in Lahaina. It appears that Kaanapali, which has many hotels, may have escaped the fires.

www.nytimes.com

Maui Town Is Devastated by Deadliest Wildfire to Strike Hawaii (Published 2023)

At least 36 people were killed in fires that tore through Maui and leveled entire neighborhoods.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com


ETAA- Maui officials are going to hold a press conference at 4pm EST.
 
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Watching the news conference. The Lt Gov said they always expect winds and floods but they never thought they would get wildfires as a result of hurricanes that are elsewhere.

Six have died in Maui. :(

Still in Search & Rescue mode.
 
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Update:

www.kcra.com

Wildfire in Maui kills at least 6, damages over 270 structures as it sweeps through historic town

“It’s horrifying. I’ve flown here 52 years and I’ve never seen anything come close to that," said Richard Olsten, a helicopter pilot for a tour company.
www.kcra.com www.kcra.com

This link confirms that the historic town of Lahaina is almost completely flattened. :(

Videos taken from air don't show any boats in the harbor, which always had many boats.
They all burned down. Businesses in the shopping district are gone. People lost their homes and animals. It is heart breaking. I have so many memories of this little town!

They are without power and their shelters are full.

The fires spread so fast that people didn't have the time to pack. They lost everything.

I am sure the financial losses are very high.

President Biden has offered help. Former President Obama expressed his condolences.

The loss of life is still at six but that could rise (I hope not).

They desperately need help. I sent a small donation on line through the Greater Goods charity.I am sure many other organizations are also helping.

The winds are not that strong anymore, so flights are taking off. They have asked visitors to stay away from Lahaina, and in general asked people to avoid non essential travel. They are sheltering 2000 people at Kahului airport, which is quite small. The hospitals are overloaded.

I hope they can rebuild.
 
Status of the historic banyan tree in Lahaina- one says "scorched but still standing". Others say it won't survive. I have recent memories of spending time with my niece in the Banyan tree park there. There are many huge trees and benches. Many people sat on the benches.

From the pictures it doesn't look good. Also the Heritage museum looks very burnt. All the historic displays must be gone. :(

 
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skategal said:
My heart goes out to them.

It’s so horrible and will take a long time to fully recover from this.

It’s still hard where I live and we (incredibly) had no loss of life here in the wildfires even though 250 homes were lost.
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Do you live on Maui? Glad to read that you are safe.
 
An acquaintance who lives in Lahaina juts posted her story - she and her partner are safe, although they got separated, and he was only able to get 2 of their 4 cats as he evacuated :fragile:

She is being amazingly upbeat about it, considering what they've lost - grateful to be alive. Unbelievable how quickly the fire started and spread.
 
Lahaina was such a wonderful and quaint little town. :wuzrobbed. One of the best places on the island to eat. I have a friend who is currently doing cetacean research off Kaua'i. They had to stay on land the past couple of days due to the onshore winds from the hurricane, but when they are working off Maui, they launch the boat out of Lahaina. In addition to all the loses to people and property, this is going to be devastating to the Hawaiian goose which is already endangered and nests on the ground.
 
And officials were warning that this might be a low number of fatalities. About 4 hrs ago the NYT update page put Google Street views and then ran current footage. Just horrendous.
 
Vash01 said:
Death toll has reached 53:(
Click to expand...
Cachoo said:
And officials were warning that this might be a low number of fatalities. About 4 hrs ago the NYT update page put Google Street views and then ran current footage. Just horrendous.
Click to expand...

I fear it's going to skyrocket once thorough searches start - right now, they're just trying to extinguish the remnants and get supplies to where there's needed.

Tuesday's winds reached 90+ mph (145 km/h) late ~10-11 pm on Tuesday night Hawai'i Standard Time. I was getting ready for bed but stayed up in utter disbelief/horror at videos like this coming in from friends and local social media (trigger warning, especially for the third video). Many of our Lahaina friends and family were probably also getting ready for bed or sleeping when the winds picked up that late evening - a survivor account said something like he was watching the flames a mile in the distance, and a minute later, it was at his doorstep. Lahaina went up in flames in literal minutes. People barely had a chance to react and escape.

Some people desperately ran to the ocean to escape the flames - but the ocean is also pitch dark at night, so I'm dreading to hear about what ocean searches or the beaches will reveal over the next few weeks.

It was a beautiful town with so much history that can't be replaced, along with all the lives and livelihoods lost. I still can't believe it's gone.
 
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Listening to the news conference by the Hawaiian officials this morning on Lahaina.

The main statement, it is all gone……
 
PRlady said:
Our close friends we just visited in California are in Hawaii and we can’t remember where. My husband has been trying to reach them for two days with no answer. :(
Click to expand...

If they were in Maui, the island has lost power and there is no way to communicate. I think other islands' communication may be impacted too.

I hope your friends are safe and either they are waiting for a flight from Kahului or are already home, but exhausted.
 
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