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Much of historic Lahaina (Maui, HI) believed destroyed as huge wildfire sends people fleeing into water. Update: 115 killed so far
- Thread starter Mcfrank
- Start date
Live on Maui and can confirm this is absolutely devastating.
If it reaches Kaanapali and takes the hotels down there then that's like 50% of our tourist industry gone.
But with the damage currently done in Lahaina so many livelihoods have been lost.
If it reaches Kaanapali and takes the hotels down there then that's like 50% of our tourist industry gone.
But with the damage currently done in Lahaina so many livelihoods have been lost.
This is absolutely horrible. I grew up on Maui and this is going to be devastating to the community for a long time.
I'm curious what solutions you two might have in mind. Do you both never travel to Hawaii?
Yea, I figured it was a pie in the sky scenario. I can only hope everyone gets the relief and assistance they need during this period.
Wait until things are back to some sort of state of normalcy, go back and read up on what happened to Kauai due to Hurriance Iniki. Donate to relief efforts. Or if you go to another island support businesses that have branches there. Maui Brewing is on Oahu, Merrimans has spots on Kauai and Hawaii, and Ululani's is also on Hawaii.
Damn some harrowing and tragic videos on IG.
Wish they had CA airtankers over there to use
View: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cvt00liuV7L/
Wish they had CA airtankers over there to use
View: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cvt00liuV7L/
Im shocked by all of this, is the island or are the islands not getting regular rain? I didn't even think something like this could happen I guess I just assumed that it rains regularly enough to prevent anything like this barring some kind of volcanic incident.
Is this a result of climate change?
Is this a result of climate change?
They said on the news that the Lahaina area is in extreme drought conditions at the moment. Kauai, Oahu and Hawaii for the most part aren't in drought conditions. The part of Hawaii Island that has fires is the dry side and this has happened before. Also the winds are so strong right now that it's hard for the relief efforts to drop water on the areas.
Maui has a few distinct ecoregions. Lahaina is essentially in a desert, it's one of the hottest, driest parts of the island despite other parts of the island being lush dense jungle that constantly gets rain. Lahaina being even dryer than normal makes it worse.
I travel to Hawaii to see family.
The solution is for less tourists to travel to Hawaii especially during these catastrophic events.
I'll look into what can be done, flights and hotel are dependent on whether they'd be willing to refund or not. Unfortunately, I'm not made of money.
You do know I didn't book a flight upon reading this news, right?
People were filming giant water spouts off the shores of Maui the day before under clear skies. The weather is wack.
Yup same here. I would not travel there for a few months. Even though I'd love to see my family after this mess.
I saw the mention of winds and dry brush but I was confused as to why it would be so dry. Granted I've only visited Oahu once a decade ago so I had no idea that it got dry like this.
Had no idea, this is tragic I feel terrible for the people. Does anyone know of any relief organizations we can donate to? Maybe too early for one to be setup already.
I think if they want tourists to visit, then by all means go. But if the local government is asking people to not come, you really should listen. A bunch of people showing up and putting a strain on an already decimated infrastructure is not a good idea. And also, Lahaina is likely completely gone.
I know not everyone does it, but we always get travel insurance. It's not much and worth it if you ever need to actually use it.
Usually, I'm the one that gets pooped on by birds while on trips, but just once, while walking under the Banyan tree, my wife got pooped on by a bird instead of me. It was hilarious. I've had some lovely memories around Lahaina, and my heart breaks for everyone impacted.
Man the firms data is just so sad to look at. I hope people are able to pick up the pieces after this
View: https://www.threads.net/@smashmode/post/Cvu0_m8xKrI/?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
View: https://www.threads.net/@smashmode/post/Cvu0_m8xKrI/?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
Yup, will keep myself updated to see the Government's recommendations. The deal we got didn't have travel insurance
This is heartbreaking. So many good memories of Lahaina. My daughter and I had planned to go to Maui in February but will likely cancel.
Travel insurance is never included. You have to buy it from a separate company (it's not like an extended warranty like with cars and appliances) and normally within a short period of time from when you first book the trip.
I do. Overtourism of Hawaii is also not a new phenomena however.
Just want to point out that the local government and Native folks often have very different opinions about tourists.
As a brief How This Happened:
We had a wetter than usual Winter, so the plants and grasses went nuts. Once the rainy season ended, all that extra growth almost immediately dried out. The West side of Maui is a dry, desert climate as it is, so within a couple months we had large areas where fires were just waiting to happen. (And there had been a few large brush fires prior to last night as it was.)
The last couple days we've been caught in between a large high pressure ridge to the NE, and powerful Hurricane Dora moving past us to the south. This created a big ass pressure gradient and the islands have been having consistent winds up to the 60mph range since Sunday.
Monday is when things really got bad, winds brought down power lines in both Upcountry and Lahaina. Fires Upcountry started first and generally were in wilderness areas but started to encroach on housing areas by Monday night/Tuesday morning. There were some scattered brush fires in Lahaina on Monday but the biggest problem was the entire West Side lost power and most communications.
Lahaina had a big flare-up Tuesday night, that's what turned into the wildfires that have taken out the town. Upcountry fires flared up as well, burned down a lot of stuff in Kula and started encroaching on Kihei. That portion is under control now.
The Lahaina fires are still out of control and still destroying homes and businesses.
We had a wetter than usual Winter, so the plants and grasses went nuts. Once the rainy season ended, all that extra growth almost immediately dried out. The West side of Maui is a dry, desert climate as it is, so within a couple months we had large areas where fires were just waiting to happen. (And there had been a few large brush fires prior to last night as it was.)
The last couple days we've been caught in between a large high pressure ridge to the NE, and powerful Hurricane Dora moving past us to the south. This created a big ass pressure gradient and the islands have been having consistent winds up to the 60mph range since Sunday.
Monday is when things really got bad, winds brought down power lines in both Upcountry and Lahaina. Fires Upcountry started first and generally were in wilderness areas but started to encroach on housing areas by Monday night/Tuesday morning. There were some scattered brush fires in Lahaina on Monday but the biggest problem was the entire West Side lost power and most communications.
Lahaina had a big flare-up Tuesday night, that's what turned into the wildfires that have taken out the town. Upcountry fires flared up as well, burned down a lot of stuff in Kula and started encroaching on Kihei. That portion is under control now.
The Lahaina fires are still out of control and still destroying homes and businesses.
For sure, it's a difficult balance of the tourism economy being a positive but also the impact it has on indigenous populations. I can't imagine anyone is going to want tourists over there for a long time. Feels like a lot like the Iniki aftermath on Kauai in 1992. I had a cousin who lived over there at the time.
The Lt. Governor of Hawaii told CNN that there's no 911, cell and phone service:
The only reliable form of communications is satellite phones:
The only reliable form of communications is satellite phones:
The only real hospital on the island is in Kahului, and it's not very big. I remember there being a little urgent care clinic a couple blocks from Old Lahaina Town, and not much else around the island.
There's gonna be a lot of post reflection concerning the Maui FD, unfortunately. People are gonna wonder out loud why efforts were made in Kula while Lahaina was left to burn. Obviously there are many logistical complications but people are gonna be angry.
This is partly why I started calling this decade The Burning Twenties 3 years ago.
There's one or two urgent cares in the Kaanapali hotels too.
That would be a miracle if the tree made it out. Hopefully!
That courthouse though on the Makai side had so much history for the town.. I remember spending an hour there as they had a lot of historical artifacts from the town itself. All of that gone.. Jesus...
There some images and videos from a civilian helicopter pilot circulating of the damage along the coast. It is not an exaggeration when people are saying the town has been destroyed. The breadth of the damage is unfathomable. I guess there is a presser at 4pm ET coming up; hoping that there has been no loss of life, but I am sure they won't know for some time.
It's amazing how fire just misses some structures while consuming others right next door.
This is insane, lots of houses in Lahaina as well from what I recall, it's a tourist destination but it's also where people live (relative to Kaanapali for instance from what I could tell.)
Also just seemed like it was the only place where there was bigger grocery stores and stuff like Wallgreens for a wide area.
Devastated for the locals/indigenous people affected.
Also just seemed like it was the only place where there was bigger grocery stores and stuff like Wallgreens for a wide area.
Devastated for the locals/indigenous people affected.
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Wow.
If anyone wants to compare to how it looked before...
https://flic.kr/p/bzhpsv
https://flic.kr/p/2gSxYLm
The small orange-roofed building is the one whose walls are still standing.
There was a two-story wooden "mall" across from the banyan tree with a movie theater. All gone.
Lt. Governor just said there is a travel restriction for Maui in place.
