Hawaii wildfires: At least 80 killed in Maui – BBC News

Eighty people are now confirmed to have been killed by wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui, officials say.

There are fears the numbers will rise further, as hundreds are still uncontactable.

Firefighters have been trying to contain fires in several areas, including the historic town of Lahaina which has been utterly devastated.

#Hawaii #Maui #BBCNews

[jbrc]

I lived in Lahaina when I relocated to Hawaii 16 years ago. It is was a beautiful and special place that I will always hold in my heart. Prayers for all those affected by this tragedy.

[runner]

The lack or malfunctioning of a warning system is disturbing. We will find out about that in the coming days. But you would think the island would have a robust warning system in place, particularly because of tsunamis.

[jasestrickland]

I’m on Oahu and we are all heart sick for our fellow islanders. God please help the people to recover their emotions and healthy psyches. Things can be replaced but a broken heart is damn hard to repair. Good neighbors, we are here for you. Heal well, with love.

[abdulazad]

I am feeling sorrow for Hawai.. From India ❤

[nickinurse]

I heard a local say that the problem happened because they rerouted all the natural water to the huge hotels & golf courses leaving the rest of the island unnaturally dry. Increased rains caused the grass to grow, followed by a drought exacerbated by the manmade rerouting of natural springs. But of course the regular news won't mention that. I hope this tragedy is analyzed & the problem corrected. We can't have this repeated.

[michaelthomas]

I use to live on Maui and also in Lahaina back in the 70's and I can't find words to express my sorrow as to what happened!

[TanyaOwens]

I think about pets, wildlife and the homeless and my heart just breaks for them.

[olemontoya]

I am from California and now live in Kona, Big Island. I went through the terrible 1993 fire of Laguna beach where hundreds of structures burned and our sweet little town almost lost. We had more resources, preparation and an early warning system (literally fireman going door to door in neighborhoods) which is why our town wasn’t destroyed and why lives were not lost. I’m stunned by the possibility that the local Maui govt was not prepared enough. The entire island chain was in a red flag warning. Maui has been bone dry for a decade and ripe for wildfires. It seems an earlier notification warning/evacuation process could have saved lives. may God bless the families affected. My Eyes wide open now that I need a solid plan for my family just in case the same thing happens here in Kona.

[mfr]

Last January, there was a Smart City Conference in Maui to turn it into a complete 15-minute smart city island. A contract was signed last year to build high-rise condos and businesses in Lahaina which was a historical town that couldn’t have any new development done to it… but now It can. An executive order was signed in July stating they could take your land if you needed to be relocated.
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[pastrana]

I'm from the island of O'ahu myself, but have been living in the UK for over 9 years now....to see Lahaina just completely burned to the ground is just honestly surreal to me. All of the islands are beautiful tropical islands and I just am gobsmacked on how this happened and why our sirens didn't sound forcing people to jump into the ocean and tread water for hours watching the city burn

[josephfrager]

My heart breaks for these people affected by the fires. It’s gonna be a long road to recovery. Sending prayers to all of Hawaii 💔😥🙏🙏🙏

[christophermanabat]

I live on Oahu, even my house was super windy. My prayers to the people in Maui. The wind was just so strong, fueling the fire like throwing gas on it.

[jeromejooste]

Condolences to all those who have family and friends who lost their lives to this disaster.

[herbertrosa]

The shaved ice, the whalers locker, the kava kava bar, the carvers in the alley on front street, nothing can erase these joyous memories of my time there… how could I forget the museum, the banyan tree, the Maui gold store, and the submarine tours will forever be missed!
Prayers for the folks of Maui, I love your aloha spirits and I pray that it remains in tact!
I had my ticket with delta to stay in Kaanapali for the 15th of August and it’s sad I can’t visit but I’m here in essence everyday checking in on y’all and wondering how to help genuinely!

[cathyphillips]

I am so very sorry for your loss.
I hope Maui can rebuild with clear designated evacuation routes with signage, underground utilities and a functioning communication system. Being an Island puts residents and visitors at risk for Lahar, Tsunami, fire disasters.

[ariag.]

I imagine that in a matter of months it will come to light that however many downed electrical poles there were, no matter how high the winds were, this level of loss, devastation and death should not have happened. This tragedy will be remembered as a confluence of errors reflecting a total lack of preparedness by local authorities. Lahaina is 200+ years old.... drought is no stranger to the islands nor are high winds. That's begs the question "Why now?" When was the last time we heard about 50-70 mph winds knocking down 29 or more electrical poles in any of these islands(that was the number I heard reported in a newscast)? I continue to observe as a 62-year-old that quality in every sector of life in our country has gone downhill in the last two decades. Anyone under the age of 45 probably won't even know what I'm talking about. You see it in manufacturing, you see it in customer service, you see it in healthcare (I recently saw an expose on poor or homeless people being escorted out of emergency rooms, untreated, to a corner just off hospital property and then just left there by security guards), people being dragged off of airplanes like common criminals simply because they don't jump out of their seat when they're told they can't be on that flight even though they had a reservation and paid for it... this was unheard of 20 years ago! Everything just seems to be spiraling down in quality. Remember the flooding in Kihei a few years ago? It turned out that it was due to critical drainage ditches that simply had not been maintained and kept clear of brush and debris and as a result the water couldn't drain properly from heavy rains and tremendous flooding occurred? Is it possible that these electricity poles should have been replaced/repaired/re secured quite a while ago and weren't? From what I heard on the news, yes these were high winds but they were not super high level winds like you would have if a hurricane passed over the island! 50-70+ mph winds, though damaging, is something Islanders are accustomed to but the fact that so many poles went down and thus, possibly caused the fire was perhaps an avoidable tragedy. Or the fact that a fire that had been put out earlier that day was not carefully monitored in the presence of high winds to make sure that it did not reignite which is not uncommon when fires are put out. And yet it wasn't monitored and it did reignite starting the fire that ended up wiping out the town of Lahaina. Not to mention the fact that the sirens weren't set off when they should have been. I hope, hope, hope I am wrong but I suspect that when everything is said and done, neglect will be revealed as it was with the deadly, yet avoidable, Paradise, CA fire several years a fire which by the way should have been a manual for reform in every county in the United States. Sadly, in the end, after blame is placed, lawsuits are filed, large amounts of money are paid out to the victims, in the end it's still the taxpayer who will have to pay for all of it, for people's negligence who should have taken greater care with their work and their responsibilities. None of it can make up for the devastation of this beautiful, historic town, the loss of homes and loved ones. We've got to do better. 😢

[MhfJazz]

Directed Energy Weapons did this. Not “wildfire”. Wake the hell up.

[robertmulligan]

I don’t believe that these are wild fires, I think they were set

[dianamoore]

I wonder how many pets were killed. Sometimes, one, s pets are the only reason a person is able to manage to get through the day when a tragedy has occurred.

[christopherpeninger]

My heart breaks for Hawaii, Lahaina, and all those families. Especially all the lives lost and the number that will grow. I spent my senior trip in Mauii and Lahaina with my girlfriend many years ago. Such fond memories.