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It has been suggested that this article be split into a new article titled 2023 Maui wildfires. (discuss) (August 2023)

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2023 Hawaii wildfires
From top, left to right: Satellite image of Maui • Lahaina Banyan Court Park • Front Street • Lahaina Harbor
Date(s)	August 8, 2023
Location	Hawaii
Statistics
Total fires	3+
Total area	14,000+ acres (5,556+ ha)
Impacts
Deaths	55
Non-fatal injuries	26+
Missing people	up to 1,000
Structures destroyed	1,700+
Damage	Unknown
Ignition
Cause	Unknown

In early August 2023, a series of wildfires broke out in the U.S. state of Hawai'i. Affecting the islands of Maui and to a lesser extent Hawai'i (colloquially known as the Big Island), the wind-driven fires prompted evacuations, caused widespread damage, and killed at least 55 people in the town of Lāhainā. The proliferation of the wildfires was attributed to dry, gusty conditions created by a strong high-pressure area north of Hawai'i and Hurricane Dora to the south.

An emergency declaration was signed on August 8, authorizing several actions, including activation of the Hawai'i National Guard, appropriate actions by the director of the Hawai'i Emergency Management Agency and the Administrator of Emergency Management, and the expenditure of state general revenue funds for relief of conditions created by the fires. By August 9, the state government of Hawai'i issued a state of emergency for the entirety of the state. On August 10, U.S. president Joe Biden issued a federal major disaster declaration.

Background

The typical area burned by wildfires in Hawai'i has increased in recent decades, almost quadrupling. Experts blame the increase on the spread of non-native vegetation and hotter, drier weather. At the time of the fires, twenty percent of the county of Maui was experiencing moderate drought (level 1 of 4), and sixteen percent of the county was under severe drought conditions (level 2 of 4). A decrease in rainfall consistent with the predicted impacts of anthropogenic climate change has been recorded in the Hawaiian islands, according to the US National Climate Assessment.

In its monthly seasonal outlook, the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) forecast "above normal" potential for significant wild land fires for Hawai'i in August, concentrated on the islands' leeward sides. In addition to noting plentiful vegetation growth from the previous wet season and the expanding drought, the NIFC mentioned that "tropical cyclones can also bring windy and dry conditions depending on how they approach the island chain and can exacerbate fire growth potential."

In early August, a high-pressure system remained north of the Hawaiian islands, causing warm and sunny conditions there. The concurrent passage of Category 4 Hurricane Dora several hundred miles/km south created a large pressure difference between the high-pressure area and the low-pressure cyclone, causing strong gradient winds to develop over the islands. A similar phenomenon occurred in 2017 in Portugal during the passage of Hurricane Ophelia.

A contributing factor to the fires is the presence of an invasive grass called guinea grass. Guinea grass can grow up to 15 cm (0.5 ft) per day and reach heights of 3 m (10 ft). When the grasses dry out they create a large mass of tinder dry vegetation. These add an enormous amount of fuel which increases the intensity of the wildfires.

The National Weather Service's office in Honolulu issued a red flag warning on August 7 for the leeward portions of all the islands, highlighting that "very dry fuels combined with strong and gusty easterly winds and low humidities will produce critical fire weather conditions through Tuesday night." East winds of 30–45 miles per hour (48–72 km/h) with gusts over 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) were forecast. In Maui County, officials reported gusts up to 80 miles per hour (130 km/h) in the Upcountry Maui area.

Fires

Maui

From August 8 to 10, wildfires in Maui caused widespread destruction in the town of Lāhainā in West Maui. The exact cause of the wildfires is presently unknown. As of August 10, at least 53 people were reported dead in Lāhainā, and over 1,700 structures had been affected, including several historic landmarks.

A separate fire was reported just past midnight on August 8 near the community of Kula. As of August 9, the fire had burned approximately 1,000 acres (400 ha) and forced the evacuation of nearby residents.

A third major fire in Kīhei also led to an evacuation of nearby residents.

Hawai'i

In Hawai'i County, neighborhoods in the North and South Kohala districts of the Island of Hawai'i were evacuated due to rapidly spreading brush fires. On August 9, several other brush fires broke out near the communities of Nā'ālehu and Pāhala; those fires were quickly brought under control.

Hawai'i County Mayor Mitch Roth said there were no reports of injuries or destroyed homes on the Big Island.

O'ahu

Multiple brush fires burned on O'ahu in the first week of August, stretching fire department resources. The fires were contained by August 4, but the island's south and west sides remain at risk of fire.

Impacts

The governor of the state of Hawai'i, Josh Green, referred to the wildfire as the "worst natural disaster" in the history of Hawai'i. (Prior to statehood, the tsunami from the 1946 Aleutian Islands earthquake killed 96 people on Hilo Bay, which is widely considered the worst natural disaster on the islands.) It was the most lethal wildfire in the United States since the 2018 Camp fire in California, which killed 85 people.

Casualties

As of August 10, 2023, there are 55 confirmed deaths and up to 1,000 feared missing due to the Lāhainā fire on Maui. The mayor of Maui County had noted earlier that authorities were "still in a search and rescue mode" and that the number could change. The death toll in western Maui made it the deadliest wildfire ever recorded in the state of Hawai'i.

As of August 9, at least twenty individuals had been hospitalized at a Maui hospital. Six individuals, three of whom with critical burns, had been transported by air ambulance from Maui to hospitals on the island of O'ahu.

Damage

The main Maui wildfire burned much of the community of Lāhainā, where more than 1,700 structures were damaged or destroyed, including much of the downtown Lāhainā Historic District centered on Front Street. The Lāhainā Historic District, which was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1962 and was the capital of the Kingdom of Hawai'i for 35 years, suffered extensive fire damage. Among the structures destroyed were Waiola Church and Pioneer Inn. Lāhainā's famous banyan tree, the largest banyan tree in the United States, was severely charred, though it appeared to be left standing after the fire.

Tamara Paltin, who represents Lāhainā in the Maui County Council, reported several destroyed or severely damaged historic landmarks in the Lāhainā Historic District in a brief interview with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, including:

• The Waiola Church, which celebrated its 200th anniversary in May 2023, lost its main sanctuary, annex, and social hall. Waiola Church's cemetery is the burial ground for members of the Hawaiian Royal Family, including Queen Keōpūolani, who founded the church in 1823.
• The Maria Lanakila Catholic Church in Lāhainā, which had been dedicated in 1858. Contrary to early reports, the main church building and steeple survived the fire largely intact, though the roof and interior may have sustained some damage.
• The Lāhainā Jodo Mission, a Buddhist temple in northern Lāhainā. Established in 1912 and stood on its current location since 1932.
• The Pioneer Inn, a landmark town hotel constructed by George Alan Freeland in 1901.
• The Na Aikana Cultural Center [d], a local cultural center which once housed a soup kitchen for striking plantation workers during an International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) strike against the Pioneer Mill.
• The Old Lāhainā Courthouse, which first operated in 1860 as a customs house for trade and whaling ships. The building's roof was completely destroyed. The Old Lāhainā Courthouse stands in heavily damaged Lāhainā Banyan Court Park.
  • The Lāhainā Heritage Museum and its collection, which were housed inside the Old Courthouse building, were also destroyed. The collection included items that spanned Lāhainā's history, including artifacts from the area's ancient Hawaiian period, the Hawaiian Kingdom and monarchy, the plantation period, and the town's whaling era. Copies of the museum's documents had been digitized and stored online prior to the fire.
• The Baldwin Home Museum, which was constructed in 1834 and 1835 as the home of American missionaries, Dwight Baldwin and Charlotte Fowler Baldwin, burned to the ground. The Baldwin Home was the oldest house on the island of Maui. Historic items lost in the house fire included Baldwin's medical instruments he used to vaccinate much of Maui's population against smallpox in the 1800s, seashell collections, and the family's furniture and rocking chairs from the East Coast.
• The Wo Hing Society Hall, built in the early 1910s to serve the growing Chinese population in Lāhainā. It was restored and turned into the Wo Hing Museum in the 1980s.

The fire also destroyed several cell towers in affected areas, causing service outages and 9-1-1 emergency telephone services to be rendered unavailable.

The wildfire that burned near the community of Kula, Maui destroyed at least two homes.

Evacuations

The United States Coast Guard confirmed that around a dozen people had jumped into the sea to escape the fire; on August 8 it rescued 14 people who had done so. As of August 9, more than 2,100 people on Maui remained in shelters. Vacationing San Francisco mayor London Breed was among those evacuated from Maui.

An estimated 11,000 people flew out of Maui via Kahului Airport on Wednesday, August 9, 2023.

Hawaiian state officials created plans to potentially house thousands of displaced Maui residents at the Hawai'i Convention Center on O'ahu.

Response

Hawai'i Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke, who was serving as acting governor in the absence of Governor Josh Green while he was traveling outside of Hawai'i, issued an emergency proclamation and activated the Hawai'i National Guard. The Hawai'i National Guard, together with the 25th Infantry Division from Schofield Barracks on O'ahu, deployed to Maui and Hawai'i Island to assist with fire suppression support, search and rescue operations, and traffic control. Two UH-60 Blackhawk and one CH-47 Chinook helicopters were also deployed to support fire suppression efforts.

U.S. President Joe Biden ordered the mobilization of "all available federal assets" to help respond to the wildfires. In a statement, Biden noted that the United States Navy Third Fleet, and the United States Coast Guard were supporting "response and rescue efforts". The United States Marines were providing Black Hawk helicopters to help fight fires in Hawai'i County, and the United States Department of Transportation was working with commercial airlines to help evacuate tourists from Maui. To help with the ongoing Coast Guard search and rescue operation, the United States Navy sent in Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron Three Seven (HSM-37) and two MH-60R Seahawk helicopters, with the United States Indo-Pacific Command standing ready to provide additional assistance as needed.

President Biden approved the state of Hawai'i's request for a major disaster declaration on August 10, making federal funding available for recovery efforts in the affected areas.

As of August 9, 2023, the Hawai'i Tourism Authority was requesting that all visitors on non-essential travel in Maui leave the island and strongly discouraging any further non-essential travel to the island.

Hawaiian Airlines offered those who were flying to or on the island of Maui the choice to reschedule, receive travel credits, or cancel their trip at no cost while assisting in evacuations.

Notes

1. According to Clay Trauernicht, who is a fire scientist at the University of Hawaii, Guinea grass, which is an invasive species found across parts of Maui, grows as quickly as 6 in (15 cm) a day and reach up to 10 ft (3 meters) tall. The grass creates a tinderbox that's ripe for wildfire as it dries out. "These grasslands accumulate fuels very rapidly," Trauernicht said. "In hotter conditions and drier conditions, with variable rainfall, it's only going to exacerbate the problem."

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External links

• Media related to 2023 Hawaii wildfires at Wikimedia Commons

• 2023 in Hawaii
• 2023 wildfires in the United States
• August 2023 events in the United States
• Fires in Hawaii
• History of Maui
• History of Oahu
• Lahaina, Hawaii