8/15/2023: Lahaina was Burned Down in a Mega Wildfire
99+ people dead; 1000+ people still missing.
Exactly a week ago, a big wildfire in Maui engulfed the town of Lahaina, destroying 2000+ structures, basically the whole town. 99 people are confirmed dead so far with 1000+ people missing. It is the deadliest wildfire on record in the US history and the death toll is set to climb a lot higher. One of my ex-coworkers was in west Maui at the time and detailed her and her family’s experience. It was devastating and surreal. I have visited Lahaina a couple of times and I have very fond memories of the city and the amazing Banyan tree. I couldn’t believe it’s all gone in a matter of hours.
I don’t know if this disaster would have been preventable if there were not so many human errors. Apparently, the sirens didn’t sound so many people didn’t evacuate in time and according to a WSJ report, Hawaiian officials were warned years ago that Lahaina faced high wildfire risk but only a small portion of mitigation recommendations were implemented. Local and state governments need to use this crisis as an opportunity to prepare for the future wildfires. The cost of rebuilding is way higher than prevention. The probability of devastation at any given time might be small but the cumulative probability overtime is non-trivial. I live in California. In summer when it’s super dry, super hot and super windy, things catch on fire easily so I can totally see how the wildfire could unfold with 10X more intensity in Lahaina. The disaster could appear in our front door any time. We need to take this seriously and not take any chances by having proper prevention and emergency response infrastructure in place.
My hearts go out to the victims of this devastating disaster. Please donate to HCF: Maui Strong Fund to help with recovery if you are able.