Lahaina, Maui wildfire damages (Maui Invitational location)
- Thread starter ImJustKCClone
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I'm sure Lahaina will rebuild...there will be some huge insurance checks being cut. But man, it's going to lose so much of its character. Never thought I'd see Lahaina being gentrified, but that's what's coming. I'm guessing that we see some pretty fast-moving construction, because they can't afford to let the town sit vacant for a year. They need to have things up and going by winter.
Living in the west, fire can move extremely fast in windstorms like this. It’s a constant threat during the summer time out here. Similar to a flash flood it can be on you in no time. And often times you can suffer from smoke inhalation even if you’re a good distance from the actual fire.
It’s a truly terrifying natural disaster because, unlike other natural disasters where you can at least get some warning, fires can pop up with no warning if power lines are downed, a cigarette butt is thrown out of a car, a little spark from anything gets into foliage, etc.
I believe it was Newsnation that had someone on this morning from Hawaii. They said it was started by power lines going down from the high winds. This has been an issue in the past and the power company was supposed to replace the poles with steel ones by this year. They were also suppose to shut down the power to the lines during high winds.
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Normally with a normal tornado, a basement would be your best bet for protection. In this situation there was no protection. Still over 1,000 people unaccounted for and only 25% of the town searched. Unfortunately though, without having a basement it may make it easier for search people to find the unaccounted for. I feel for the searchers and the families that are dealing with this horrific disaster.
There is really only one road out of town and the town is only a few blocks deep. It's like the folks trapped in the California fires with some of the rural towns with a single route out through the mountains and woods. Their last minute choice was fire, sea or that single exit. The "Well, I would have done ...." stuff doesn't really apply that well except as hindsight. The post disaster finger pointing and blame is going to pretty extreme.
We were there in Oct. 2022 and were surprised by how many stores were empty and had not returned from COVID. I'd estimate it was 2/3 of what it was when we were last there in 1997.
I'm sure they will. As you say, it not have the same charm.
There's some information going around on twitter given how many are missing, that children were sent home from school (canceled) due to the winds and so some children were at home while their parents were at work? Given that instance, that many didn't know what to do so they didn't make it. If true, that is one devastating and awful ordeal. I can't imagine walking through that rubble.
The fire itself moves fast when there are 40 - 60 mph winds. In addition, that wind picks up large embers and pushes them ahead of the "front," so small fires start far ahead of the main fire. You can be fully encircled quickly.
I have not heard that yet. I mean, the children not being in school yes, but not them being alone and making up a large number of the missing. I mostly hear about older people. I hope that’s not true…and they do really love their kids here, so I think I would have heard if that was a major concern.
Our snorkeling instructor last Thursday said that it's normal for Maui to have more visitors than residents on any given day. If they don't have tourism, they will struggle. Imagine if ISU just picked up and left Ames all in one day.
Wind fueled grass fires move faster than forest fires. And the fire was basically driving seaward - no place to run to.
There was one man interviewed by NBC who had been at home with his four or five children. He grabbed his children and at least that many children from a neighboring house (parents were at work) and got them all to safety. He was sitting in what looked like a hotel room with eight or nine young children surrounding him. I didn't hear them mention in the interview whether or not his wife or the neighbors survived.
And here come the real estate and investment parasites. Right on schedule to exploit desperate people.
www.startribune.com
Hawaii is vowing to protect landowners on Maui from being pressured to sell after wildfires
Hawaii's governor vowed to protect local landowners from being ''victimized'' by opportunistic buyers when Maui rebuilds from deadly wildfires that incinerated a historic island community and killed more than 100 people.
www.startribune.com
Maui Invitational Expected to Be Played in Honolulu at the University of Hawaii\
Maui Invitational Expected to Be Played in Honolulu: Sources
Event organizers want to keep the men’s college basketball tournament in Hawaii to raise awareness and funds for the Maui fire relief efforts
themessenger.com
