"The fire was so rapid that it was as if in an instant, houses, cars, everything was set on fire." One survivor described to the media the horror of the wildfire on Maui, Hawaii.
On August 14, 2023, local time, Lahaina, Hawaii, a small town destroyed by wildfire.
On August 11, 2023, local time, Lahaina, Hawaii, USA, after a wildfire, local resident Davilynn Severson looked for relics in the ashes of his home.
According to the Maui County Government of Hawaii, USA, as of the 18th local time, the death toll caused by the fire has risen to 114. It's the deadliest wildfire in the U.S. in more than a century. In the town of Lahaina, where the damage was worst, many buildings and vehicles were spray-painted with "X", meaning that the remains of the victims had not yet been identified. Whether it is the people who survived the disaster, or many American media and netizens have been questioning for days: Why are wildfires so big? Why are the losses so heavy? How did the "deadliest" wildfire in the United States in a century come about?
On August 18, 2023, local time, in Lahaina, Hawaii, USA, police dogs participated in search and rescue operations.
On August 15, 2023, local time, Wailuku, USA, after the Maui forest fire, disaster relief workers stored the bodies of the victims in container trucks.
On August 16, 2023, local time, on Maui, Hawaii, USA, people hugged each other, hoping to enter their home that was destroyed by fire.
On August 16, 2023, local time, Maui, Hawaii, USA, a bouquet of flowers was left on the ground after the fire.
On August 16, 2023, local time, Maui, Hawaii, USA, a man rode a cross on his back after a fire.
On August 16, 2023, local time, Hawaii, USA, people help a man find a wedding ring in the rubble.
Maui is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago with a population of more than 100,000. The town of Lahaina, with about 13,000 inhabitants, remains in ruins, with more than 2,200 buildings burned down. According to the latest data released by Maui County, 85 percent of the wildfires that destroyed the famous tourist town, code-named "Lahaina," are currently under control. Hawaii Governor Green said the damage was close to $6 billion.
On August 10, 2023, local time, Hawaii, USA, Lahaina after being swept by wildfires.
Climatic reasons
From the perspective of natural factors, strong winds, drought and flammable vegetation combine to create conditions for the "explosive spread" of wildfires. Meteorological experts point out that global climate change has led to more intense extreme weather disasters, including wildfires. Although Hurricane Dora only passed a few hundred kilometers south of the Hawaiian Islands, it intensified the low-pressure system and increased the pressure difference, resulting in strong winds, with winds of up to nearly 130 kilometers per hour in parts of Maui.
On August 9, 2023, local time, Hawaii, USA, wildfires are still spreading rapidly.
On August 9, 2023, local time, Hawaii, USA, GOES-18 fire temperature composite satellite image. Data released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows that hot surface temperatures in the Hawaiian Islands are indicated in red. The combination of strong winds, low humidity, and dry vegetation has caused particularly devastating damage from the Hawaiian wildfires.
Maui's recent drought has been intensifying, with about 85 percent of Maui in moderate to severe drought. The media also pointed out that invasive alien plants on the island are harmful in terms of "fueling combustion", and the Hawaiian island previously had a large area of pineapple and sugar cane plantations, with the rise of tourism, many plantations gradually deserted, and the spread of fast-growing but flammable exotic grass species has covered about a quarter of Hawaii's land, and these weeds have become the ideal "fuel" for the spread of fires. At that time, the wildfire spread at a rate of 1.6 kilometers per minute.
On August 11, 2023, local time, the grasslands in the inland area of Hawaii, Maui, United States, were destroyed by wildfires.
Rethink wildfire prevention and response processes
As search and rescue efforts continue and more details of the disaster are revealed, more and more people are questioning and reflecting on the shortcomings and lessons learned in wildfire prevention and response. Some people criticized the government's ineffective response, saying that the local government did not sound sirens to remind people to avoid danger, nor did they cut off electricity in time to avoid being caused or aggravated by power lines blown down by high winds.
On August 16, 2023, local time, Hawaiian Electric Company employees repaired utility poles after the Maui fire in Hawaii, USA.
Days before wildfires reportedly engulfed parts of Maui, weather forecasts alerted the government that high winds could cause dangerous fires in many places. Hawaiian Electric did not adopt "power outages," which were considered by many states to be an extremely effective fire prevention measure after the severe wildfires of 2017 and 2018. Maui County Governor Richard Beeson acknowledged that strong winds knocked down about 30 utility poles, some of which were powered when they fell to the ground. A power pole fell at a substation under the Hawaiian Electric Company on the 8th, and the incident occurred near the original fire point.
On August 15, 2023, local time, Lahaina, USA, a burned power pole.
On August 11, 2023, local time, workers at the Maui Power Company in Hawaii, USA, carried down a fallen power pole.
Hawaii boasts the world's largest outdoor-connected public safety early warning system, deploying about 400 sirens, including 80 in Maui, but these sirens did not sound during the wildfire.
August 13, 2023, local time, Hawaii, USA, emergency system sirens on the street.
Media reports also pointed out that as firefighters struggled to stop the fire from spreading, they were surprised to find almost no water inside the hydrant. The town of Lahaina relies on surface water from nearby streams and groundwater pumped from wells, and the high winds on the day of the fire prevented firefighting aircraft from transporting water from the nearby sea to extinguish the fire, and when the fire spread, the water pipes of the burned houses dissolved and ruptured, and the water leakage caused the pressure of the water supply network to drop, and the water hydrants' water supply capacity became weaker and weaker.
On August 13, 2023, local time, on Maui, Hawaii, USA, firefighters fought at the scene of a fire.
On August 16, 2023, local time, on Maui, Hawaii, USA, a Chinook helicopter transported water to extinguish a fire.
On August 16, 2023, local time, Maui, Hawaii, USA, members of the US National Guard controlled the disaster area after the fire.
In addition, the media revealed that while wildfires are not uncommon in Hawaii, officials have consciously underestimated their harm. Last year, Hawaii released a report highlighting natural disasters that could cause serious damage, including tsunamis, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, and while it mentioned wildfires, it concluded that the risk was "low." A 2021 Maui County report on wildfire prevention acknowledges that the area of overfires is soaring, but funding for preventing and reducing the threat of wildfires is inadequate.
Trauma of American colonial history
American public opinion pointed out that the US government was ineffective in disaster relief in Lahaina, and the local indigenous people did not trust the government, which reflected the deep historical trauma left by American colonialism in Hawaii. Indigenous people continue to face discrimination within the education, economy, and justice systems, and their ghettos tend to have the highest poverty rates in Hawaii, where nearly 20 percent of the homeless population is Indigenous.
On August 16, 2023, local time, in Washington, D.C., the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Dean Christwell, spoke at the daily briefing in the Brady briefing room of the White House. U.S. President Joe Biden will travel to fire-ravaged Hawaii on Aug. 21 to meet with survivors and first responders still searching for victims, the White House said Aug. 16.
After the disaster in Lahaina, many local indigenous people preferred to live in burned rubble rather than go to relief centers set up by the US government. NBC said that this act is due to the historical trauma caused by American colonialism, and some indigenous people said that the US government has always regarded indigenous people as "second-class citizens", they are not valued, and many people fear that the US government will take this opportunity to drive them away from the land they have lived in for generations, and they have no trust in the US government.
On August 12, 2023, local time, on Maui, Hawaii, USA, Bryce Bare recounted his horrific experience surviving wildfires.
On August 13, 2023, local time, Hawaii, USA, people prayed for the victims of the fire.
After widespread questioning about the disaster response, Herman Andaya, head of the Maui County Emergency Management Agency, announced his resignation on the same day. The Maui County Government issued a press notice on the same day, saying that the search has covered about 58% of the wildfire-affected area, and 90% of the "Lahaina" wildfire, which caused the most serious damage in many wildfires on the island, has been controlled.
On August 16, 2023, local time, Herman Andaya, director of the Maui Emergency Management Agency in Hawaii, USA, spoke at a press conference held in Wailuku, Hawaii.
Source: Xinhua News Agency, CCTV News Client, Visual China, The Paper