Hot, dry weather combined with winds from Hurricane Dora caused wildfires to spread across the Hawaiian island of Maui, devastating the resort town of Lahaina.
An unprecedented wildfire is raging on the Hawaiian island of Maui. The blaze has spread rapidly across a large area, burning the resort town of Lahaina on the west side of Maui, leaving at least 53 people dead and hundreds missing.
It was one of the deadliest wildfires in the United States in recent years. "The whole of Lahaina was burned to the ground, it was like the end of the world," said Mason Jarvi, a Lahaina resident who evacuated.
The first wildfires began to appear in Hawaii on the night of August 8, but the cause is still unclear. The US National Weather Service (NWS) previously issued a warning to Hawaii because the area is hot, dry and windy, creating ideal conditions for wildfires.
“We don’t know what led to the fires, but they were alerted by the NWS,” Kenneth Hara, commander of the Hawaii National Guard, said at a press conference on August 9.
About 14% of Hawaii is in moderate or severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM). Eighty percent of the islands are classified as abnormally dry.
The historic Waiola Church in Lahaina, the first Catholic church on the island of Maui, is engulfed in flames. Photo: AP
According to the US Forest Service, nearly 85% of the country’s wildfires are caused by humans. The Hawaiian Islands have six active volcanoes, one of which is on the island of Maui, which can also be a natural cause of wildfires.
In that context, strong winds on the island due to the influence of Hurricane Dora moving more than 1,000 km south of the Hawaiian Islands caused the first fires to burn fiercely and spread at an unusually fast speed, becoming firestorms that left people unable to react, the NWS said.
Dora was classified as a Category 4 storm by the Pacific Hurricane Center, the second-highest on a five-point warning scale, on the morning of August 9. The storm brought wind gusts of more than 60 mph that damaged power lines and homes on the island of Maui.
Lahaina residents drive through flames on August 8. Video: Twitter/Mike
Clay Trauernicht, a scientist at the University of Hawaii, said the thick, dry vegetation also contributed to the fire’s rapid spread. Guinea grass, an invasive plant found in many parts of Maui, grows rapidly during the rainy season, growing six inches in a day and reaching a maximum height of 10 feet. The grass becomes a fire starter when it dries out during the dry season.
“Dry vegetation on grasslands thickens very quickly,” Trauernicht said. “In drier, hotter weather with less rainfall, it will exacerbate the problem.”
The last time a major wildfire broke out in Hawaii was in 2018. Winds from Hurricane Lane also spread the fire, surrounding the town of Lahaina. The fire burned more than 800 hectares, destroying 31 vehicles and 21 structures, mostly homes.
Location of Maui island and path of Hurricane Dora. Graphics: BBC
Experts warn that disasters like what's happening in Maui are caused by many factors, but climate change is an undeniable cause.
“Climate change-related disasters are becoming larger and larger than what we can handle,” said Kelsey Copes-Gerbitz, a researcher in the forestry department at the University of British Columbia.
Nhu Tam (According to Reuters, CBS News, Guardian )
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