By: Lauren Ko, Angela Jang, Iris Schafer
What caused these streams of wildfires to burst and spread so vastly on the island of Maui? There was a mix of dry and dusty conditions, combined with a high-pressure area to the north of Hawaii. These worrying indicators of a storm about to occur were confirmed with Hurricane Dora happening to the south of this location.
The first report of small fires was given on August 4th at around 11 A.M. There was a 30-acre brush fire on August 8th, leading to utility poles collapsing due to intense winds and heavy weather conditions. A fallen power line is now thought to be the direct cause of a fire, after support from electrical grid sensor data and security camera footage were reported. These two signs of impending natural disasters led to bigger concerns for the islands’ residents who were nearby.
In Lahaina, a fire was introduced around 4:40 P.M. This prompted residents to self-evacuate to safety with little to no notice. Scrambling to gather their most loved possessions and traveling on small paved roads. However, contrary to what people would expect; civil defense sirens were not activated after their knowledge of the fire. Only social media alerts that reached a small audience of Lahaina would be publicly shared. This demonstrates how ill-prepared and undermined these fires were at the beginning of the Maui Wildfires.
After non-stop fires that spread for 3 to 4 days, the Maui Wildfires were finally extinguished. Damages are now estimated to be nearly $5.5 billion, while there were about 97 confirmed deaths and 31 more unconfirmed deaths. This would make it the fifth deadliest wildfire in United States history. Fortunately, sixty survivors were found alive, sheltering inside one single home together and putting safety above comfort. In the aftermath, many people online have expressed great disappointment and anger at the short and subtle notices that were shared with the public about the wildfires, as they started to break out. “There’s always opportunity for us to prepare, but we didn’t,” said Jennifer Potter to ABC News.
Many are left grieving or sending their sincere condolences to those who lost not only their homes and businesses, but their families and friends due to the wildfires.
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