Ive only been to Lahaina once but I owned a place on the Big Island next door for 9 years. Living in Hawaii really is a slice of paradise, but its also unexpectedly difficult. In the 9 years we...
Ive only been to Lahaina once but I owned a place on the Big Island next door for 9 years. Living in Hawaii really is a slice of paradise, but its also unexpectedly difficult. In the 9 years we had the place we experienced hurricanes with downed 'widowmaker' trees, vog (acidic smoke from the volcano), rat lung disease (can be fatal, carried by slugs onto greens that are not properly washed), wild pigs, fire ant infestations, a horde of feral cats, an incoming missile warning (fortunately an accidental alarm), hidden lava tubes (some are quite deep), a small tsunami, and eventually our place was overrun with lava. Now add wildfires. Its beautiful but living on the islands is not for the faint of heart.
Hurricane-force winds billowing from Hurricane Dora fanned the flames of multiple brush fires Tuesday in the counties of Hawaii and Maui, including in the North Kohala, South Kohala, Kula and Lahaina areas, burning at least 1,000 acres, according to Hawaii officials.
Evacuations were ordered in the Kohala Ranch, Kula and Lahaina areas, and several roads and schools were closed. The blaze appeared to have destroyed much of the historic town of Lahaina on the Maui Island, where many residents reportedly jumped into the waters to avoid the flames, according to Hawaii News Now. A crew rescued 12 people from the water off Lahaina, the Coast Guard tweeted.
…
The National Weather Service in Honolulu has issued red flag warnings and wind alerts for much of the islands, with winds expected to gust to 50 mph and humidity levels expected to be under 45% on the leeward side of the islands until 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Hurricane Dora is flowing just to the southwest of the Hawaiian Islands, sucking up the moisture that normally sits over the region. There is also an area of high pressure to the north of the islands that are fanning strong winds over the Big Island and Maui. The combination of these two factors, strong winds and low humidity, have set the stage for critical fire weather conditions.
Currently the death count is 59 and will absolutely rise. I'm watching the national news right now, and my dad said the ash looked like snow. He compared it to Hiroshima, and I can't say he's...
Currently the death count is 59 and will absolutely rise. I'm watching the national news right now, and my dad said the ash looked like snow. He compared it to Hiroshima, and I can't say he's wrong. It's one of the most devastating scenes I've seen.
It's just the fact that this isn't in a forest like most wildfires, but a city. People's lives were upended in minutes. Survivors describe hearing screams outside their houses and looking outside to see fire racing towards them. No time for alarms to raise. The governor is saying it's too early to figure out if the sirens didn't go off due to human error or mechanical failure, but he said most of the equipment has been destroyed. It feels genuinely plausible to me that it spread too fast to raise the alarms, with all the houses and shops clustered together and 80 mph winds fanning the flames.
It's just... It's chilling. I can only hope that the death count doesn't climb too high, but at this point it's all but guaranteed it's in the triple digits.
I'm traveling to Maui in November, it'll be my first visit to Hawaii. I just looked up the VRBO I'm staying in and... it's in Lahaina. Not sure what to do now. As far as I can tell from the maps...
I'm traveling to Maui in November, it'll be my first visit to Hawaii. I just looked up the VRBO I'm staying in and... it's in Lahaina. Not sure what to do now. As far as I can tell from the maps in the article, this particular building wasn't in the affected area, but still. I'm kind of stunned.
Is that where the huge Banyan tree is? Visited there several years ago, always wanted to go back. :(
It is. The tree has fire damage but is one of the few things still standing, unknown if it will survive.
Ive only been to Lahaina once but I owned a place on the Big Island next door for 9 years. Living in Hawaii really is a slice of paradise, but its also unexpectedly difficult. In the 9 years we had the place we experienced hurricanes with downed 'widowmaker' trees, vog (acidic smoke from the volcano), rat lung disease (can be fatal, carried by slugs onto greens that are not properly washed), wild pigs, fire ant infestations, a horde of feral cats, an incoming missile warning (fortunately an accidental alarm), hidden lava tubes (some are quite deep), a small tsunami, and eventually our place was overrun with lava. Now add wildfires. Its beautiful but living on the islands is not for the faint of heart.
From the article:
…
Currently the death count is 59 and will absolutely rise. I'm watching the national news right now, and my dad said the ash looked like snow. He compared it to Hiroshima, and I can't say he's wrong. It's one of the most devastating scenes I've seen.
It's just the fact that this isn't in a forest like most wildfires, but a city. People's lives were upended in minutes. Survivors describe hearing screams outside their houses and looking outside to see fire racing towards them. No time for alarms to raise. The governor is saying it's too early to figure out if the sirens didn't go off due to human error or mechanical failure, but he said most of the equipment has been destroyed. It feels genuinely plausible to me that it spread too fast to raise the alarms, with all the houses and shops clustered together and 80 mph winds fanning the flames.
It's just... It's chilling. I can only hope that the death count doesn't climb too high, but at this point it's all but guaranteed it's in the triple digits.
I'm traveling to Maui in November, it'll be my first visit to Hawaii. I just looked up the VRBO I'm staying in and... it's in Lahaina. Not sure what to do now. As far as I can tell from the maps in the article, this particular building wasn't in the affected area, but still. I'm kind of stunned.
They are asking all non essential travel to be postponed if possible.
Maui wildfires death toll rises to 53; rebuilding will cost billions, governor says
What a nightmare, this story keeps getting worse