Lahaina, Maui wildfire damages (Maui Invitational location)

[HFCS]

I know practically nothing about Hawaii but I have gotten to know wildfires up close the past 9 years between living in SoCal and backpacking through Sierras.

I don't understand how this is even possible in terms of what the land is like. I think of Hawaii as super green and wet with lots of moisture everywhere? Was it unusually dry? Am I missing something about what Hawaii is like or was it an extremely out of the ordinary dry year there? (even though continental western US had its wettest winter in decades?)

 

[Cyclonepride]

I know practically nothing about Hawaii but I have gotten to know wildfires up close the past 9 years between living in SoCal and backpacking through Sierras.

I don't understand how this is even possible in terms of what the land is like. I think of Hawaii as super green and wet with lots of moisture everywhere? Was it unusually dry? Am I missing something about what Hawaii is like or was it an extremely out of the ordinary dry year there? (even though continental western US had its wettest winter in decades?)

Sounds like it was very dry. It's very possible that the air currents altered the normal weather patterns that both Hawaii and the West Coast would see.

 

[laminak]

I know practically nothing about Hawaii but I have gotten to know wildfires up close the past 9 years between living in SoCal and backpacking through Sierras.

I don't understand how this is even possible in terms of what the land is like. I think of Hawaii as super green and wet with lots of moisture everywhere? Was it unusually dry? Am I missing something about what Hawaii is like or was it an extremely out of the ordinary dry year there? (even though continental western US had its wettest winter in decades?)

Typically each Hawaiian island is rainy on their eastern side and dry on their western sides. Lahaina is on the west of Maui.

 

[Frak]

Typically each Hawaiian island is rainy on their eastern side and dry on their western sides. Lahaina is on the west of Maui.

Yeah that island has two completely different climates.

 

[HFCS]

Typically each Hawaiian island is rainy on their eastern side and dry on their western sides. Lahaina is on the west of Maui.

I had no idea anywhere was dry there, I always just see the areas that look like they must get tons of rain.

 

[simply1]

I had no idea anywhere was dry there, I always just see the areas that look like they must get tons of rain.

Pretty dry, from 2021

After relief, drought returns to Maui

Although Maui County enjoyed reprieve from the worst drought conditions in the state — the break was brief, recent weather reports show. Severe drought has already descended on leeward portions of the county, and predictions show below normal rainfall may be in store for summer and fall. Reports...

www.mauinews.com

Combined with

Maui's fire became deadly fast. Climate change, flash drought, invasive grass and more fueled it

A dangerous mix of conditions appear to have combined to make the wildfires blazing a path of destruction in Hawaii particularly damaging, including flash drought, high winds, low humidity and dry vegetation.

apnews.com

We could see rain every day on the other side of the mountain, and never made it to Lahaina when we stayed there

 

[simply1]

Serena Moll (@serena_louise) • Instagram photos and videos

0 Followers, 1,148 Following, 1,206 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Serena Moll (@serena_louise)

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[CycloneSpinning]

Tbh I wondered if part of the lack of warnings was not wanting to scare off tourists.

And now the situation is complicated - politicians are asking people to cancel vacations, but tour operators and restaurants etc that operate in nearby areas depend on the tourists still showing up to make a living.

I hope Lahaina is rebuilt and that the needs of residents are kept in mind. But looking at a place like New Orleans after Katrina or the northern Cali towns that burned, it’s a safe bet that whatever comes next for Lahaina will look a lot different than what existed before. My guess is the resorts in Kaanapali etc try to build out more on site shopping etc.

I spoke with a local today who made the interesting point that larger buildings could actually provide a better tomorrow for Lahaina. It makes some sense. You have better infrastructure that supports larger resorts…sprinkler systems, water features and irrigation, etc. We didn’t get into how the residents would live though. Hope they figure it out.

We also spoke with a 10 year old girl who was playing at a playground with her brothers and sisters (they had been instructed not to bother her parents as they talked in a nearby shelter house). She shared their story of getting out. How her dad saw the fire two blocks away, they tried to get to their car and couldn’t…and ended up running into the ocean. They then swam to safety. She said her whole family got out, but others they know are missing. She called them her aunts and uncles, but my wife wondered about that when the little boy called her “auntie”. We later learned that’s a very Hawaiian thing…it’s a respect thing that they call people aunt or uncle (they aren’t necessarily blood relatives). I/we just tried to tell her we were so glad she and her family were alive and would pray for them and the missing…and we tried to give her hope for a better tomorrow. But I’ve found myself lacking the right words several times the last few days here…and that honestly doesn’t happen often for me.

It’s a very difficult thing to process. I went through the flood of ‘93, and we of course have tornadoes. These people are so tightly knit together though, and they lost a significant historical location, not to mention people they know. Or people they know lost their house. It’s actually a relatively small geographic area that was impacted, but it seems the whole island had a connection to this area, and it’s deeply personal for them.

 

[clonechemist]

I know practically nothing about Hawaii but I have gotten to know wildfires up close the past 9 years between living in SoCal and backpacking through Sierras.

I don't understand how this is even possible in terms of what the land is like. I think of Hawaii as super green and wet with lots of moisture everywhere? Was it unusually dry? Am I missing something about what Hawaii is like or was it an extremely out of the ordinary dry year there? (even though continental western US had its wettest winter in decades?)

West Maui (including Lahaina) is in a rain shadow from the mountains. East Maui is basically a rainforest.

 

[Yaz]

West Maui (including Lahaina) is in a rain shadow from the mountains. East Maui is basically a rainforest.

When we vacationed on Maui, I remember the name Lahaina meaning "Cruel Sun".

 

[dmclone]

My wife and I were there last year. This tree was the most amazing that I've ever seen.

 

[HFCS]

My wife and I were there last year. This tree was the most amazing that I've ever seen.

View attachment 115487

That is awesome, like a Miyazaki movie.

There’s a poor man’s version of a tree like that near the Beverly Hills sign that draws a lot of tourists. I looked it up and it’s called Australian banyan, huge but nowhere near that Hawaiian tree.

 

[wxman1]

https://x.com/yzimng2/status/1690693319511412736?s=46&t=BZLdIVe4evtZr1ol0lx3bQ

 

[besserheimerphat]

I know practically nothing about Hawaii but I have gotten to know wildfires up close the past 9 years between living in SoCal and backpacking through Sierras.

I don't understand how this is even possible in terms of what the land is like. I think of Hawaii as super green and wet with lots of moisture everywhere? Was it unusually dry? Am I missing something about what Hawaii is like or was it an extremely out of the ordinary dry year there? (even though continental western US had its wettest winter in decades?)

Driving from Kihei to the Maui Airport yesterday, all I could think was how the valley looked like SoCal. Very dry, flat, brown and covered in scrub brush and grass. The north/east sides of the volcanos were green, but the south/west sides were brown all the way up on the western half of the island. I don't know if that's typical for the location/time of year, but there were permanent-looking road signs that said "dry area."

 

[besserheimerphat]

I spoke with a local today who made the interesting point that larger buildings could actually provide a better tomorrow for Lahaina. It makes some sense. You have better infrastructure that supports larger resorts…sprinkler systems, water features and irrigation, etc. We didn’t get into how the residents would live though. Hope they figure it out.

We also spoke with a 10 year old girl who was playing at a playground with her brothers and sisters (they had been instructed not to bother her parents as they talked in a nearby shelter house). She shared their story of getting out. How her dad saw the fire two blocks away, they tried to get to their car and couldn’t…and ended up running into the ocean. They then swam to safety. She said her whole family got out, but others they know are missing. She called them her aunts and uncles, but my wife wondered about that when the little boy called her “auntie”. We later learned that’s a very Hawaiian thing…it’s a respect thing that they call people aunt or uncle (they aren’t necessarily blood relatives). I/we just tried to tell her we were so glad she and her family were alive and would pray for them and the missing…and we tried to give her hope for a better tomorrow. But I’ve found myself lacking the right words several times the last few days here…and that honestly doesn’t happen often for me.

It’s a very difficult thing to process. I went through the flood of ‘93, and we of course have tornadoes. These people are so tightly knit together though, and they lost a significant historical location, not to mention people they know. Or people they know lost their house. It’s actually a relatively small geographic area that was impacted, but it seems the whole island had a connection to this area, and it’s deeply personal for them.

Apparently Lahaina was the capital of HI for a time back when it was the Kingdom of Hawaii. (1820 - 1845 per Wikipedia)

 

[simply1]

Apparently Lahaina was the capital of HI for a time back when it was the Kingdom of Hawaii. (1820 - 1845 per Wikipedia)

I wasn’t fully aware of our history with Hawaii until I looked up why so many flags were being flown there.

 

[CycloneSpinning]

Driving from Kihei to the Maui Airport yesterday, all I could think was how the valley looked like SoCal. Very dry, flat, brown and covered in scrub brush and grass. The north/east sides of the volcanos were green, but the south/west sides were brown all the way up on the western half of the island. I don't know if that's typical for the location/time of year, but there were permanent-looking road signs that said "dry area."

Have thought that as well. Reminds me quite a bit of Southern California.

Also, seeing that Paris Hilton is being dogged for vacationing in Maui now. It’s a pretty tough/tricky deal. I get the resource issue, but honestly I spoke with one guy today that is pretty scared of the tourists not being in Maui. He said they barely made it through Covid, and it will be bad if they wait to restore Lahaina to reopen for business. Some sort of thoughtful tourism seems necessary to avoid making this an even more catastrophic loss for the entire island.

 

[NWICY]

Have thought that as well. Reminds me quite a bit of Southern California.

Also, seeing that Paris Hilton is being dogged for vacationing in Maui now. It’s a pretty tough/tricky deal. I get the resource issue, but honestly I spoke with one guy today that is pretty scared of the tourists not being in Maui. He said they barely made it through Covid, and it will be bad if they wait to restore Lahaina to reopen for business. Some sort of thoughtful tourism seems necessary to avoid making this an even more catastrophic loss for the entire island.

I saw that, wasn't sure if she was already there or flew in after the fire. Already there hard to rag on her. But yeah after a bit the unburnt part is still going to need tourism dollars to survive.

 

[cymate]

sorry for the dumb question, but how do people get trapped by a wild fire and die? Is the fire that fast moving? I have zero experience with forest fires?

 

[clone52]

sorry for the dumb question, but how do people get trapped by a wild fire and die? Is the fire that fast moving? I have zero experience with forest fires?

I read in one spot that the fire was moving a mile a minute at one point.