Ruin: Large parts of downtown Lahaina burned to the ground in the horrific wildfire. Photo: JUSTIN SULLIVAN / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA
The fire in Hawaii is the deadliest in over 100 years. There are several reasons for that.
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The forest fire on the island of Maui, Hawaii, earlier in August, is the deadliest in over 100 years. More than 100 people have been confirmed dead, about 2,700 buildings have been destroyed, and several hundred buildings have been damaged. Over 1,000 people are still missing. The fire may have started by toppling power poles and igniting grassy areas. Roadblocks set up due to downed power lines may have prevented residents from fleeing the fire. Emergency sirens on Maui were not activated despite monthly tests. Authorities in Maui have asked residents to provide DNA samples to help identify the deceased. Show more
Strong winds, dry terrain and poor communication are among the factors that made the fire that turned parts of Maui into ash so bad.
Over a hundred people have been confirmed dead, and more than 1,000 are still unaccounted for. Around 2,700 buildings are said to have been destroyed, and several hundred more are said to be damaged.
Drought and “Dora”
The now burnt area had been hit by a sudden and brutal drought in the weeks before the fire. The risk of spreading was therefore great.
Despite the fact that hurricane “Dora” never made landfall, it still caused strong gusts of wind on the island.
The strong winds ensured that at least 30 power poles in West Maui were blown to the ground. Several American media point out that it may have been the start of the entire deadly fire in that grassy areas caught fire when poles fell.
According to AP Hawaiian Electric had no procedure for turning off the power in the wires in the area. Thus, the fire could flare up at the same moment that the power lines hit the very dry grass.
The same news agency has spoken to Shane Treu, who witnessed a power pole fall at a gas station. They are said to have created balls of flame which were then blown away by the wind.
– I heard “buzz, buzz”. It was almost as if someone was setting off fireworks. It grew to a large piece of grass, and suddenly, with the strong wind, the fire raged, he tells AP.
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Photo: HAWAI’I DLNR / Reuters / NTB Photo: Jae C. Hong / AP / NTB Photo: Jae C. Hong / AP / NTB
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Photo: HAWAI’I DLNR / Reuters / NTB
Roadblocks became a death trap
Reports from residents who escaped the flames describe chaos and drama.
Due to the fallen power lines, the fire department chose to block the Lahaina bypass road – the only way out of Lahaina in the south.
Nate Baird, who lived in the worst-hit area, got into his car to escape the fire. Then he encountered a road blocked with cones and workers working on the poles that had blown down.
The workers are said to have gestured that everyone had to turn back towards Lahaina. Baird chose to ignore this – and got to safety shortly afterwards.
Two weeks after the fire, Maui Police Chief John Pelletier claimed that they never prevented anyone from leaving, but that they tried to prevent people from driving over the power lines.
Unused sirens
According to the AP, emergency sirens are tested monthly in Maui County. Despite this, the sirens were not used to warn of the flames that flared up in Lahaina.
Several of those who have survived the fire believe they could have saved many lives if they had been warned in advance.
The head of the Maui Emergency Management Agency, Herman Andaya, disagrees. He is adamant that not activating the alarm was the right choice. Andaya believed that the alarm would have caused more people to move towards the mountain – in the direction of the flames.
Andaya has now resigned from the position.
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Nate Baird reacts to the fact that no alerts were sent out. The schools were closed the day the fire started, and there were several children in his neighborhood who were home alone when the flames came.
– No one was warned. If we had been given ten minutes, we could have saved many children, he says according to AP.
In Lahaina there are five sirens. Two of these are powered by solar energy. This means that at least two of the five alarms could have been activated even if there was a power cut in the area.
Asking residents for DNA
Authorities in Hawaii have since the fire urged their residents to submit DNA samples to help identify remains that have been found. That’s what Reuters writes on Wednesday.
So far, the response to the call has been worse than they hoped for. 104 DNA samples must have been submitted.
– The number of families who have come to give DNA samples is much lower than what experts have previously seen after other disasters, says prosecutor Andrew Martin.
It is now feared that several of the missing will never be found.
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Published: 25/08/23 at 00:19
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2023-08-24 22:19:50
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