Maui wildfires - 6 dead so far
Discussion
Maybe could have been part of another thread, but I post this as I was in Maui only a few days ago.
We had dinner in Lahaina on our last night (Saturday) at a place that is now a pile of smouldering rubble.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/09/weather/maui-county...
Pure luck on our part when we were booking a few months ago, we were toying with this week but I had a work conference I couldn't avoid, so decided on last week instead.
We had dinner in Lahaina on our last night (Saturday) at a place that is now a pile of smouldering rubble.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/09/weather/maui-county...
Pure luck on our part when we were booking a few months ago, we were toying with this week but I had a work conference I couldn't avoid, so decided on last week instead.
It brings it home a little more if it is somewhere you have been. Glad you are OK. We went to Maui a few years ago - staying near Kapalua - so about 8 miles from one lot of fires.
There is a small airport near there too, which is probably in the midst of the fires now.
Google maps does not hang around - showing the locations of the fires in real-time.
There is a small airport near there too, which is probably in the midst of the fires now.
Google maps does not hang around - showing the locations of the fires in real-time.
aeropilot said:
TriumphStag3.0V8 said:
It brings it home a little more if it is somewhere you have been.
I know someone that lives there, in Maalaea Bay.......now trying to find out from others if they are OK or not 
The news footage looks utterly devastating. Lahaina has been completely destroyed.
eharding said:
Awful, that is a huge jump. 9.3 said:
Extraordinary reporting early today by the Mail that Maui had been “wiped off the face of the map” … they have at last edited that. Idiots.
I guess they confused Lahaina for Maui?.
It's a few years since I was there (for a work conference) but it still sent a shiver down my spine when I heard the town's name.
It's quite incredible that boats in a harbour could be destroyed and people could only save themselves by jumping into the sea.
Sheepshanks said:
It's quite incredible that boats in a harbour could be destroyed
The basic problem is the high winds spreading embers around, so it's moving fast and wide and hopping in ways it wouldn't by itself. Winds probably also caused the structural fires to be much more common than in 'normal' conditions as blown embers end up on roofs/gutters/get under eaves.
Not like fire breaks or other firefighting are particularly effective in those conditions either.
When we were there last week 4 out of our 7 days had high wind warnings. There was even a fire near the airport the day before we flew home (Last Friday) that delayed a bunch of flights.
At the time I said to my wife I was glad we were flying Saturday so we didn't get hit by a few hour delay... needless to say that would have been the least of our worries had we been there this week instead.
At the time I said to my wife I was glad we were flying Saturday so we didn't get hit by a few hour delay... needless to say that would have been the least of our worries had we been there this week instead.
They are struggling to say how the fire initially started. However, I’ve seen footage of the unburnt areas, and there are many power lines and indeed many towers and power poles on the deck, because the winds were so strong they were bringing these down. Many trees blown down too.
Winds were apparently 80mph and this is why the fires were so deadly. Blow torch affect and many embers being blown. There was even burning debris blown out to sea in some areas.
Death toll will I fear be substantial.
Winds were apparently 80mph and this is why the fires were so deadly. Blow torch affect and many embers being blown. There was even burning debris blown out to sea in some areas.
Death toll will I fear be substantial.
https://twitter.com/latestinspace/status/168961727...
^shot t night from aircraft^.
The aftermath looks like how I imagine the great fire of London was. Difficult to know how to prevent it in future short of banning wood as a building material, but who can afford that?
The harbour shot is terrifying too.
^shot t night from aircraft^.
The aftermath looks like how I imagine the great fire of London was. Difficult to know how to prevent it in future short of banning wood as a building material, but who can afford that?
The harbour shot is terrifying too.
king hell, that's horrific. It really brings home the potential of wild fires even in a developed nation.glazbagun said:
Difficult to know how to prevent it in future short of banning wood as a building material, but who can afford that?
If the fires are spread by radiant heat igniting things there's limits to how much you can stop them spreading, if it's from wind blown embers then you can try to improve it via roof and wall cladding choices and attention to some of the building details; might not be perfect but can be much better.Timber construction isn't necessarily the issue but if you have lots of shingled roofs or Onduline sheet type roofs that isn't going to help fire resistance in this situation and I suspect from the colours in the satellite photos there might have been plenty of both.
Toll now 55 lives lost, many still missing, grim reading gets worse.
Maui - strong winds downed power lines before fires started then fanned the flames.
https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2023/08/08/strong-wi...
Two ignition sources found at Ka'u, a cooking fire and an incendiary device. H/T jshell.
https://i.ibb.co/qmTjfyg/Hawaii.jpg
Maui - strong winds downed power lines before fires started then fanned the flames.
https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2023/08/08/strong-wi...
Two ignition sources found at Ka'u, a cooking fire and an incendiary device. H/T jshell.
https://i.ibb.co/qmTjfyg/Hawaii.jpg
https://twitter.com/TheWakeninq/status/16895348126...
^^ Embers in the wind.
https://twitter.com/WxNB_/status/16899291619204669...
^^ Embers in the sea.
https://twitter.com/ChNajem/status/168978588004977...
^^ Street on fire.
^^ Embers in the wind.
https://twitter.com/WxNB_/status/16899291619204669...
^^ Embers in the sea.
https://twitter.com/ChNajem/status/168978588004977...
^^ Street on fire.
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