Maui

[E&Cmom]

I have been following the news since yesterday. It is devastating . I was in Maui 17 years ago and it is one of my favourite vacations. I remember Lahaina so vividly And seeing what it looks like now is heartbreaking. Thinking of the residents.

 

[NotUrsula]

The winds from the hurricane fueled the flames.

This is what happens in Southern California every fall. We get hot, dry desert winds called Santa Ana's. A tiny fire can explode to numerous acres in a matter of minutes when you have 50-70mph winds that are constant.

Most of our fires here start from something minor, like a spark from a car crash along a grassy highway, or someone throwing a cigarette butt out a car window. It is astonishing how quickly a fire can rage out of control when the vegetation is dry. I'm guessing Hawaii was in some sort of dry spell recently.

Yes, they have had a serious drought.

It's a terrible tragedy. Added irony is that this is one of the very few times when a direct hit by a hurricane would have been a much better outcome than a near miss. Dora is close enough to generate very strong winds, but not close enough to drop significant rain on Hawaii. Also, she's moving away (toward Japan), so they can't even count on getting backwash rain as she weakens and passes by.

 

[wvjules]

The western side and mountain regions of Maui are much drier than the eastern side. I've heard one of the issues in the area are all the abandoned sugar cane and pineapple plantations that have been allowed to grow uncontrollably.

And it's just me being trivial, but Maui has no cities. It's all one county government on Maui, Lanai, and Molakai.

The hotel stayed at last time was in Lahaina. The airport is in Kahului. Paia is Paia. It's not Just Maui, Lanai and Molokai - although they are all in Maui County. Not sure what your point is? If I mail to the resort the address is Lahaina. Not Maui.

 

[bcla]

The hotel stayed at last time was in Lahaina. The airport is in Kahului. Paia is Paia. It's not Just Maui, Lanai and Molokai. Not sure what your point is? If I mail to the resort the address is Lahaina. Not Maui.

Technically those are all census-designated places. There are no cities in Maui, which is 100% unincorporated. That's all.

I was just pointing out the main islands that make up Maui County. However, Kalaupapa (with its leper colony) is odd because it's its own county.

 

[wvjules]

Technically those are all census-designated places. There are no cities in Maui, which is 100% unincorporated. That's all.

I was just pointing out the main islands that make up Maui County. However, Kalaupapa is odd because it's its own county.

Good info to have while the island burns. Thanks.

 

[bcla]

Good info to have while the island burns. Thanks.

I didn't say anything bad about the fires. I've been following some of the news, and the county government structure of Maui has been mentioned several times, especially in terms of police and fire services.

 

[maui22]

Thoughts and prayers to all dealing with this tragedy.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I've been watching some of the news. It's just awful

 

[dvcgirl67]

Yes, following this story, and it's very sad. We just traveled to the Big Island and Oahu for the first time. The Maui fires are absolutely devastating. But the Big Island is also fighting fires. We stayed at the Mauna Lani resort there and it was so beautiful. About 7-8 miles up the road, right along the coast the Mauna Kea resort and surrounding areas were burning...really sad to see that.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

As others have stated, I was shocked to hear that Hawaii could have wildfires. A friend told me about it and I honestly thought she was joking at first because when I think of Hawaii I picture rainforest and waterfalls. The images in the news are hellish; my prayers go out to those affected. It sounds like it's chaos with many people's loved ones missing, and anyone lucky enough not to lose a loved one still probably lost everything they owned. It's unimaginable.

 

[bcla]

As others have stated, I was shocked to hear that Hawaii could have wildfires. A friend told me about it and I honestly thought she was joking at first because when I think of Hawaii I picture rainforest and waterfalls. The images in the news are hellish; my prayers go out to those affected. It sounds like it's chaos with many people's loved ones missing, and anyone lucky enough not to lose a loved one still probably lost everything they owned. It's unimaginable.

There are parts of Hawaii that are very dry. I remember going through Kona and seeing how much dry brush there was. They get about as much rain in the dry areas as typical parts of California.

There’s no reports on how these started, but it’s clear that the high winds from a hurricane (way off of Hawaii) caused the rapid spread.

 

[Claudia1]

Oh no when we were in Maui as part of our honeymoon over 20 years ago we would go there for dinner every night they had some great restaurants like Hard Rock, Bubba Gump, and Cheeseburger in Paradise.

A friend shared this, remembering her own fond times at Cheeseburger in Paradise. This is on their Facebook page:
"This is our roof, the last piece of our Beloved Cheeseburger In Paradise. The devastation of Lahaina Town is total; there is nothing left... but the memories of our time with all of you.
811 Front Street was the ride of a lifetime, the dream that came true. We built a legend and were honored to build a family too. The hundreds of you who Served Aloha Daily will remain in our hearts forever. This is not the end;
we will be back before you know it…"

 

[Dan Murphy]

https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/10/us/maui-wildfires-hurricane-dora-thursday/index.html

53 killed Terrible

 

[DLgal]

As others have stated, I was shocked to hear that Hawaii could have wildfires. A friend told me about it and I honestly thought she was joking at first because when I think of Hawaii I picture rainforest and waterfalls. The images in the news are hellish; my prayers go out to those affected. It sounds like it's chaos with many people's loved ones missing, and anyone lucky enough not to lose a loved one still probably lost everything they owned. It's unimaginable.

Any place with vegetation can have wildfires. All it takes is some drought and winds.

 

[HeatherC]

Heartbreaking. There are now over 1700 buildings lost and 53 lives lost. So very sad.

 

[princesscinderella]

We vacationed there last summer it it was absolutely beautiful. We went to the Old Laihaina Luau, which was fabulous. That side of the island is very dry the rain doesn’t make it past the mountains, so one side is typically dry and the other looks like a rainforest. I remember seeing Smokey the bear wildfire warning signs driving through that area. My heart breaks for all those on the island who have lost their homes and businesses, the recovery will take a very long time.

 

[anniemae]

Absolutely devastating. The news described it as apocalyptic and from the pictures I saw, this is an accurate description. So tragic.

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

Horrific. The pictures and videos look like a horror movie. The climate catastrophe is no longer coming ... it's here.

 

[DLgal]

Horrific. The pictures and videos look like a horror movie. The climate catastrophe is no longer coming ... it's here.

It is terrifying when you see it for real, up close.

We had to evacuate our house in October 2020 after a wildfire broke out in the foothills 3 miles from our house. It started at 7:30am, and a fire chief SAW IT START on hois way in and called in crews and reinforcements immediately, but by 9am, school was being cancelled, evacuation orders were in place, and I was called to come pick up my son. The high school is 1/2 mile from the hills that were burning and the drive there and back home was terrifying with a giant wall of flames and smoke, absolutely NO sun, and embers flying through the air. We left our home at 10:30 that morning.

I never want to see anything like that again. We got lucky that not one structure was lost in that fire, but that was put of sheer luck that the response was as swift and comprehensive as it was.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

That is so sad. I saw a clip on the news.