Maui fire books on Amazon don’t prove disaster was pre-planned

31 AUGUST 2023

WHAT WAS CLAIMED

The existence of books about the Maui fires published and for sale on Amazon so quickly after (and in one example during) the event show the disaster was planned.

OUR VERDICT

Books on Amazon published via Kindle Direct Publishing can be uploaded to Amazon for sale as eBooks or paperbacks very quickly. The existence of these books does not prove the fire was planned.

Multiple posts on Facebook have claimed that the presence of books for sale on Amazon about the Maui fires so soon after the event show that the disaster was premeditated. 

One post says: “How come a book about the Hawaii fires was physically published on the 11th Aug…It’s as if they already knew and had the full details of the fires before they even happened!!”

While several books about the Maui fires have appeared on Amazon in the days following the fire (and in one case before most fires were under control), they hadn’t been published via traditional methods. Amazon allows anyone to self-publish eBooks or paperbacks which are then printed quickly on demand.

Leader of the Heritage Party and former London Assembly member David Kurten claimed on X, formerly known as Twitter, “There is no way that a book about the Maui fires could have been written, edited and published on 10 Aug before the end of the period it is talking about (8 - 11 Aug), and all filled with climate change propaganda. This was pre-planned.” At the time of writing that has over 10,000 reposts. Full Fact has contacted Mr Kurten for comment.

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Fire and book timeline

One Facebook post appeared to claim that a book on the Maui fires was published the day before they happened. This is false. The Maui fires began on 8 August, although footage of one fire was captured by CCTV just before midnight the day before.

Firefighters continued to contain the fires on 9, 10 and 11 August, and on 12 August at least one of the fires was declared 100% contained.

The book mentioned in the Facebook post, ‘Fire and Fury: The Story of the 2023 Maui Fire and its Implications for Climate Change’ was published on 10 August (although at the time of writing had been removed from sale). The paperback version was only 86 pages long.

The description of the book did contain the line: “The book chronicles the events of August 8-11, 2023, when a massive fire swept across the island of Maui, fueled by drought, heat, and hurricane winds.” The book was published before 11 August so could not have chronicled the events of the day after unless it was subsequently edited or an error when the description was written.

That author, ‘Dr Miles Stones’ has a profile on Amazon’s website that does not have an image and gives no other information about them, bar a few other books they’re listed as the author of, including one about President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter.

A different Facebook post pointed to another book on Maui, also published on 10 August, called ‘Unforgiving Flames: The Hawaiian Wildfires of 2023: Survival, Unity and Hope in the Face of Nature’s Fury’. At the time of writing this book had also been removed from sale. The Kindle version of the book was only 54 pages long. The author appears to have published two other short books on Amazon that are both under 30 pages long on Kindle.

Full Fact found two other books apparently about the fires on Amazon, but after we contacted Amazon about them, they were removed from sale. We have not been able to verify if they were also self published.

One book, ‘Fire and Fury: Unmasking the Enigma of the Maui Fire—Decoding the Unfolding Tragedy’, was published on 17 August. It was just 46 pages in paperback and the description contained grammatical errors.

Another book, called ‘MAUI WILDFIRES: Ignited Paradise’ was published on 15 August and was 40 pages long.

Full Fact has not been able to contact the listed authors.

Anyone can self-publish a book on Amazon

Several of the posts questioned how these books could be written, published and printed so fast. One Facebook post claimed a book on the fires was “written, sent to print and distributed to stores” on 10 August even though the fires started just two days before. This is not quite the case.

Anyone can publish a book on Amazon via Kindle Direct Publishing—you do not need to get a book deal from a traditional publisher to do this. The Kindle Direct Publishing website says: “Get to market fast. Publishing is simple and your book appears on Amazon Stores around the world within days.”

An eBook or paperback published in this way can be listed on the Amazon website within 72 hours.

Kindle Direct Publishing can also print the books on demand, meaning they’re only printed once they’re ordered using digital printing, which is much faster than the traditional way mass-produced books are printed, using plates.

We don’t know for certain how the books were written so fast, but they all have relatively low page counts.

An Amazon spokesperson told Full Fact: “The titles flagged are being removed from sale. 

“All publishers in the store must adhere to our content guidelines, regardless of how the content was created. We invest significant time and resources to ensure our guidelines are followed and remove books that do not adhere to these guidelines.”

Amazon has content guidelines for the books it sells, and removes content that doesn’t adhere to them. For eBooks, there are certain errors Amazon refers to as ‘critical issues’ that “significantly impact the reading experience”, which include content that is uploaded in unsupported languages, books that are entire scans of a physical book and a number of different formatting errors. If such critical issues are identified, the book will be removed from sale until corrections are made. Amazon did not confirm which guidelines the removed books did not adhere to.

We’ve checked other misinformation relating to the Maui fires, including false claims the fires were purposefully started to create a ‘smart island’, that the fires weren’t hot enough to melt aluminium in cars and that the fire was started by a ‘directed energy weapon’. While a single cause of the fire is still under investigation, there’s no evidence the disaster was planned.

Image courtesy of State Farm

This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here. For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as missing context because books about the Maui fires being available for sale on Amazon soon after or even during the event don’t prove it was preplanned.

• By Grace Rahman

Hawaii wildfires latest: At least 36 dead as historic town Lahaina burns to the ground

“Unprecedented’’ wildfires continue into a third day on Hawaii’s Big Island and Maui in what is said to be the state’s worst natural disaster in 30 years.

Niamh Cavanagh
·Reporter
Thu, August 10, 2023

At least 36 people have been confirmed dead after windswept wildfires ravaged parts of Hawaii’s Big Island and neighboring Maui. The fires, which began on Tuesday, destroyed swathes of land forcing residents from their businesses and homes. According to officials, thousands of people have been displaced.

What’s the latest?

On Wednesday evening, Maui County officials said 36 people were discovered amid the “active fire” in the historic town of Lahaina. “We are still in a search and rescue mode, so I don’t know what will happen to that number,” Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen Jr. said during a news conference on Wednesday.

Sen. Brian Schatz said the centuries-old town was “almost totally burnt to the ground.” Acting Gov. Sylvia Luke said communities had been “wiped out” after emergency services struggled to contain the fires. In Maui alone, over 270 structures have been damaged so far. “These were small businesses that invested in Maui,” she said. “These were local residents. We need to figure out a way to help a lot of people in the next several years. The road to recovery will be long.”

Wildfires in Hawaii fanned by strong winds burned multiple structures in areas including historic Lahaina town, forcing evacuations and the closing of schools in several communities. (Zeke Kalua/County of Maui via AP)

Read more on Yahoo News:

NBC News: 14 people who sheltered from Maui wildfire in the ocean rescued by Coast Guard

USA Today: Maui wildfires leave wake of devastation in Hawaii. How you can donate or volunteer

The Conversation: Maui wildfires burn through Lahaina – it's a reminder of the growing risk to communities that once seemed safe

Accuweather: Distant Category 4 Hurricane Dora kicks up winds, stirs dangers in Hawaii

Maui County officials said that 11,000 people have been evacuated from the island so far, with many more expected to leave. Since Wednesday, hospitals have been overwhelmed with burn victims and those suffering from smoke inhalation, including one firefighter. Landline and cellphone service remain cut for residents of West Maui, leaving them unable to contact emergency services.

Tourists have been asked to leave the affected areas of Maui as soon as possible. For those without cars, bus evacuations were organized outside of hotel resorts bringing tourists straight to Kahului Airport. The Department of Transportation has been working with local airlines to evacuate all tourists from the affected areas of Maui, the White House said in a statement.

Smoke billows near Lahaina as wildfires driven by high winds destroy a large part of the historic town of Lahaina, Hawaii, on August 9, 2023. (Dustin Johnson/Reuters)

At least 10 schools on the island have closed following the continued spread of brush fires, while one, located in Central Maui, remains open as an evacuation shelter. According to PowerOutage.us, more than 12,000 in Hawaii are still without electricity.
What has the White House said?

In a statement released on Wednesday night, President Biden ordered all available federal assets in Hawaii to help battle the wildfires. The Army and the Hawaiian National Guard have mobilized helicopters to help with “fire suppression” on the Big Island and Maui. Meanwhile, the Coast Guard and the Navy have been supporting evacuations and rescue efforts.

“I urge all residents to continue to follow evacuation orders, listen to the instructions of first responders and officials and stay alert,” Biden said.

This graphic shows the location of fires on the island of Maui, Hawaii, Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023.

 (AP Photo)

What caused the wildfires?

It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the wildfires, but Honolulu meteorologist Jeff Powell said they were sparked “kind of because of Hurricane Dora, but it’s not a direct result.”

Hurricane Dora, which passed western Johnston Island on Wednesday, traveled 700 miles south of Honolulu and created winds of 130 mph on Tuesday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The National Weather Service warned of wind speeds as high as 60 mph and alerted those in the affected areas to expect power outages and difficulty traveling. The NWS said that “very dry conditions” and “potentially damaging easterly winds” would continue the “dangerous fire weather conditions” into Wednesday afternoon. “The fire can be a mile or more from your house, but in a minute or two, it can be at your house,” Maui County fire assistant chief Jeff Giesea said.

“The fact that we have wildfires in multiple areas as a result of indirectly from a hurricane is unprecedented; it’s something that Hawaii residents and the state have not experienced,” Luke said.

Ring by ring, majestic banyan tree in heart of fire-scorched Lahaina chronicles 150 years of history




Hawaii Fires

This combination of satellite images provided by Maxar Technologies shows an overview of Banyan Court in Lahaina on Maui, Hawaii, on June 25, 2023, top, and an overview of the same area on Wednesday, Aug. 9, following a wildfire that tore through the heart of the Hawaiian island.

 (Maxar Technologies via AP)


BOBBY CAINA CALVAN and JENNIFER McDERMOTT
Thu, August 10, 2023 

For generations, the banyan tree along Lahaina town's historic Front Street served as a gathering place, its leafy branches unfurling majestically to give shade from the Hawaiian sun. By most accounts, the sprawling tree was the heart of the oceanside community — towering more than 60 feet (18 meters) and anchored by multiple trunks that span nearly an acre.

Like the town itself, its very survival is now in question, its limbs scorched by a devastating fire that has wiped away generations of history.

For 150 years, the colossal tree shaded community events, including art fairs. It shaded townsfolk and tourists alike from the Hawaiian sun, befitting for a place once called “Lele,” the Hawaiian word for “relentless sun.”

Ring by ring, the tree has captured history.

The tree was just an 8-foot (2-meter) sapling when it was planted in 1873, a gift shipped from India to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first Protestant mission in Lahaina. It was planted a quarter century before the Hawaiian Islands became a U.S. territory and seven decades after King Kamehameha declared Lahaina the capital of his kingdom.

“There is nothing that has made me cry more today than the thought of the Banyan Tree in my hometown of Lahaina,” wrote a poster identifying herself as HawaiiDelilah on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“We will rebuild," her post said. "And the natural beauty of Maui will be forever.”

The tree's enormity — and its many trunks — is because of how it grows. Aerial roots dangle from its boughs and eventually latch onto the soil. Branches splay out widely and become roosting places for choirs of myna birds.

While there was lots of concern over the loss of at least 36 lives and the devastation to the community, the tree has become a symbol of the devastation but perhaps the community's resilience, should it survive.

It's unclear what sparked the fire, which quickly raced toward town Tuesday evening. The flames were fanned by brisk winds and fueled by dry vegetation in nearby hills. When the ferocious blaze swept into the historic town, many of the wooden buildings didn't stand a chance and were quickly turned into heaps of ashes.

“It’s kind of the center of town,” said Maui resident Amy Fuqua in an interview with The Associated Press in 2016 when she was the manager of the Lahaina Visitor’s Center. “Everyone knows where it’s at. It has an important significance to the town and it feels good under there.”

Wildfire devastates Hawaii's Lahaina, historic city and onetime capital of former kingdom


MARK THIESSEN and AUDREY McAVOY
Updated Thu, August 10, 2023 

KAHULUI, Hawaii (AP) — The wildfire that has brought sheer devastation to Maui is especially heartbreaking for Hawaii because it struck one of its most historic cities and the onetime capital of the former kingdom.

Lahaina holds deep cultural significance for Hawaiians. The city was once the royal residence of King Kamehameha III, who unified Hawaii under a single kingdom by defeating the other islands’ chiefs. His successors made it the capital from 1820 to 1845, according to the National Park Service.

Kings and queens are buried in the graveyard of the 200-year-old stone Wainee Church. Later named Waiola, the church that once sat up to 200 people was photographed apparently engulfed in flames this week.

“It was really the political center for Hawaii,” said Davianna McGregor, a retired professor of ethnic studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Dozens of people were killed and hundreds of structures were damaged or destroyed in the blaze that ignited Tuesday and quickly spread throughout the western Maui community of less than 13,000 residents.

It’s feared that the fire also consumed much of Lahaina's historic Front Street, home to restaurants, bars, stores and what is believed to be the United States' largest banyan, a fig tree with roots that grow out of branches and eventually reach the soil like new trunks.

Richard Olsten, a helicopter pilot with tour operator Air Maui, said he and other pilots and mechanics flew over the scene Wednesday before work to take stock.

“All the places that are tourist areas, that are Hawaiian history, are gone, and that can’t be replaced," he said. “You can’t refurbish a building that’s just ashes now. It can’t be rebuilt — it’s gone forever.”

Francine Hollinger, a 66-year-old Native Hawaiian, said witnessing the destruction of Front Street was “like losing a family member ... because they’ll never be able to rebuild it, like we wouldn’t be able to bring back our mother or father."

The full extent of loss won’t be known until officials can assess the damage done by the flames, fanned by winds caused in part by Hurricane Dora moving westward hundreds of miles to the south of the island state.

The Lahaina Historic District is home to more than 60 historic sites, according to the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. A National Historic Landmark since 1962, it encompasses more than 16,000 acres (6,500 hectares) and covers ocean waters stretching a mile (1.6 kilometers) offshore from the storied buildings.

For Native Hawaiians, the city is a connection to their ancestors. Lahainaluna High School was where royalty and chiefs were educated, and also where Kamehameha and his Council of Chiefs drafted the first Declaration of Rights of the People and the Constitution for the Hawaiian Kingdom.

“From going from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy, the ruling chiefs in and around Lahaina and those educated at Lahainaluna played very prominent roles in our governance at that time,” McGregor said.

The capital was moved to Honolulu in 1845, but Lahaina’s palace remained a place where royalty would visit.

Lahaina also has a rich history of whaling, with more than 400 ships a year visiting for weeks at a time in the 1850s. Crew members sometimes clashed with missionaries on the island.

Sugar plantations and fishing boosted the economy over the decades, but tourism is the main driver now. Nearly 3 million visitors came to Maui last year, and many of them come to the historic city.

The fire is “just going to change everything,” said Lee Imada, who worked at the Maui News for 39 years, including the last eight as managing editor until his retirement in 2020. “It’s just hard to register, even right now, what the full impact of this is going to be.”

Imada lives in Waikapu, on Maui, but has ancestral ties to Lahaina going back generations. His mother’s family owned a chain of popular general stores, and his granduncles ran the location on Front Street until it closed around 60 years ago.

He recalled walking down Front Street among the tourists as they shopped or ate, looking at the banyan tree, and enjoying the beautiful ocean views from the harbor.

“It’s just sort of hard to believe that it’s not there,” Imada said. “Everything that I remember the place to be is not there anymore.”

___

Thiessen reported from Anchorage, Alaska. Associated Press video journalist Manuel Valdes in Seattle contributed.

Images show devastation of Hawaii wildfires
BBC
Wed, August 9, 2023 

An arial view of buildings damaged in Lahaina, Hawaii as a result of a large wildfire which has killed 6 people and forced thousands of evacuations on the island of Maui in Hawaii, USA, 09 August 2023. Winds from Hurricane Dora, which is currently over the Pacific Ocean hundreds of miles south of Hawaii, have intensified the wildfires.

Wildfires on the Hawaii island of Maui have destroyed homes and businesses and displaced thousands.

The hardest hit is the historic town of Lahaina. Officials reported at least six people have been killed in the fires.

The fires continue to rage as of Wednesday afternoon, with firefighting efforts and search and rescue missions underway.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has deployed federal resources to help.

Aerial images show several buildings destroyed by the fires in Lahaina, though officials said it is still difficult to determine the true extent of the damage.

The fires were fanned by a combination of low humidity and winds from a distant Hurricane Dora, the National Weather Service said, which brought with it gusts of above 60 mph (97 kph). The flames spread along Lahaina's coast, burning boats and the town's harbour.

A charred boat lies in the scorched waterfront after wildfires fanned by the winds of a distant hurricane devastated Maui's city of Lahaina, Hawaii, U.S. August 9, 2023. Mason Jarvi/Handout

The path of the flames can be seen by images captured by satellite. Some have reportedly jumped into the ocean to escape the flames, and the US Coast Guard said it rescued at least a dozen people from the water.

A satellite image shows wildfires in Maui, Hawaii, U.S.,

Lahaina is a historic town on the western tip of Maui. It is home to 12,000 residents and is also a popular destination for tourists. The fires have displaced round 2,100 locals who have been housed in shelters.


Thousands remain without power or cell phone service due to the fires, and 911 services in West Maui were down on Wednesday. Roads into Lahaina were closed except for emergency vehicles, as officials warned visitors to stay away for their own safety.

Smoke billows from flames near Lahaina as wildfires driven by high winds destroy a large part of the historic town of Lahaina, Hawaii, U.S. August 9, 2023.

All images subject to copyright.

Shocking Before-and-After Pics Show Hawaiian Town Obliterated by Deadly Wildfires

Dan Ladden-Hall, Josh Fiallo
Thu, August 10, 2023 

Jeff Melichar/TMX/via Reuters


Shocking before-and-after photos from Lahaina, a historic Hawaiian town of about 12,000 people on the west coast of Maui, have revealed the extent of the devastation caused by one of the most deadly American wildfires in recent history.

At least 53 people died as several fires tore across the island of Maui on Tuesday, with powerful winds from Hurricane Dora accelerating the inferno (even though the hurricane itself is passing Hawaii several hundreds of miles away in the Pacific Ocean).

County officials said many of the fatalities were discovered as firefighters battled to save Lahaina—a popular tourist destination that was once the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii. The death toll is expected to rise above that caused by a tsunami that slammed into the state in 1960, leveling much of Hilo and killing 61 people.

Satellite imagery shows the total destruction of the Banyan Court area in Lahaina.
Satellite image (c) 2023 Maxar Technologies via Getty

Satellite imagery showed that the Banyan Court area of Lahaina had been razed, including many of the town’s most iconic landmarks. Its famous 150-year-old banyan tree, the largest in the world, was badly charred but salvageable, KHON2 reported.

At least 1,000 structures have been either damaged or destroyed in the flames, which grew so intense that some people were forced to flee into the ocean. Gov. Josh Green (D) estimated Thursday that “maybe upwards of 1,700 buildings” had been razed by the fires.

The U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement the same day that it had saved 17 people in the water, while 40 survivors had been located on land. Search and rescue responders remained “actively engaged” in looking for more survivors, Captain Aja Kirksey said.

Thousands of locals spent Tuesday night in evacuation shelters while thousands of tourists were similarly forced to take shelter as flights were grounded. More than 14,000 people were moved off Maui on Wednesday. An additional 14,500 people were set to be relocated by Thursday night, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

Satellite imagery shows an overview of the damage caused by the Lahaina wildfire.
Satellite image (c) 2023 Maxar Technologies via Getty

Lahaina resident La Phena Davis said the blaze had left her and her hometown with nothing.

“I've never seen anything like it,” she told KITV. “There is no Lahaina left. There’s no Lahaina Harbor, no Mala Wharf. Every restaurant is burned. The Jodo Mission and the homes on Front Street are completely burned to the ground.”

In a separate interview, Davis recalled how frighteningly fast the flames reached her front door, leaving her only enough time to grab essential paperwork and run.

“It was such a black, thick smoke that we immediately just left,” she said. “We barely grabbed anything. I literally didn’t grab any clothes. I grabbed my important papers, but everything that we owned, and you know, in all my 50 years of life, is completely burnt to the ground.”

Other residents from the beachside town of 13,000 described a similarly apocalyptic scene. Ingrid Lynch told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that she thought the worst had passed on Tuesday morning when the fires destroyed her car. That night, her roommate woke her and told her they had to flee their house—which was soon on fire as well. “We didn’t know where we were going,” Lynch said. “There were flames everywhere and we didn’t know what direction to go.”

An aerial view shows wildfire smoke in Lahaina.
Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke via Facebook/via REUTERS

Taxi driver Alan Barrios, 53, also described finding himself “in the eye of the storm” as he fled Lahaina, forced to leave one of his frightened cats behind after it panicked and ran away. “Your heart is coming out of your chest, that’s all I can tell you,” he said. “You feel like you’re running out of oxygen.”

Laren Gartner, a restaurant owner on Maui, told CNN that the fires had decimated cell service, connectivity and electricity on the island, leaving thousands in the dark—likely terrified, lost, and confused.

“Lahaina looks like a bomb went off,” she said. “There is nothing left.”

Smoke billows near Lahaina.
Dustin Johnson/Handout via REUTERS

The Federal Emergency Management Agency described Maui on Thursday as having “widespread devastation.” The agency said it was struggling to assist those impacted because of the island’s relatively small size and the unpredictability of the fires, which were 80 percent contained by Thursday morning.

Hawaii’s tourism authority advised visitors on “non-essential travel” to leave Maui late Wednesday, additionally discouraging others from traveling into the area. Local attention and resources will instead be given to communities impacted by the fires, with tourists urged to rearrange their plans.

For tourists already in West Maui, a “mass bus evacuation” will begin on Thursday morning to take people to the Kahului Airport. Roads were gridlocked with traffic to the airport on Tuesday as thousands of tourists and locals alike attempted to escape the disaster. Late Wednesday, Southwest Airlines said it had added additional flights “to keep people and supplies moving,” and California officials announced Thursday it was sending a search and rescue team to the embattled island.

County officials in Maui said about 1,400 people slept at the airport Wednesday night and another 1,300 in shelters away from the flames.

“These past few days, the resolve of our families, businesses, and visitors have been tested like never before in our lifetime,” Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said in a video message late Wednesday. “With lives lost and properties decimated, we are grieving with each other during this inconsolable time.”

In addition to Maui, officials said fires broke out on Big Island, but no injuries or destroyed buildings have been reported there. The true scale of the devastation may not be known for some time.

“This is not going to be a short journey,” Hawaii Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke said. “It’s going to take weeks and maybe months to assess the full damage.”

President Joe Biden approved a disaster declaration for Hawaii early Thursday and pledged to dedicate federal resources.

The Daily Beast.

Shocking before-and-after images show utter devastation of Maui wildfire

Terry Castleman
Thu, August 10, 2023 

The hall of historic Waiola Church in Lahaina and nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission are engulfed in flames along Wainee Street on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. 

(Matthew Thayer/The Maui News via AP) 

Wildfires in Maui have killed at least 36 people and injured dozens more.

At least 270 structures were damaged or destroyed.

Sylvia Luke, Hawaii's acting governor, said the flames “wiped out communities,” and she urged travelers to stay away. “This is not a safe place to be,” Luke said.

New satellite imagery shows the scale of the devastation wrought upon Lahaina, a waterfront city of about 13,000 residents on the northwest side of the island.

On the left side of the image below is an aerial shot of Lahaina on June 25.

The right side of the image shows most buildings have been burned to the ground, and the surrounding landscape is charred.

Read more: 53 killed in Maui fires; massive evacuation efforts underway

The wind-driven conflagration swept into coastal Lahaina with alarming speed and ferocity, blazing through intersections and leaping across wooden buildings in the town center, which dates to the 1700s and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The image below is a closer look at Lahaina Square Shopping Center, which appears to have been severely damaged along with the neighborhood around it.

The fires continued to burn Wednesday afternoon, fueled by strong winds from Hurricane Dora as it passed well south of the Hawaiian islands. Officials feared the death toll could rise.

Read more: Edison football team cancels nine-day trip to Maui because of wildfires

The image below shows Lahaina Banyan Court, a park that is home to the oldest living tree on Maui, and the nearby Lahaina marina, where nearly every visible structure was wiped out.

It was unclear whether the tree had survived the fire.

President Biden said in a statement Wednesday evening that he had ordered “all available federal assets” to help Hawaii. The president said the Coast Guard and Navy were supporting the fire response and rescue efforts, while the Marines are providing Black Hawk helicopters for aerial support in the firefight.

There was no count available of the number of structures destroyed or the number of people who had evacuated, but officials said there there were about 2,100 people in four shelters.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Maui fires: Aerial photos show damage in Lahaina, Banyan Court after deadly wildfires

Emily DeLetter, USA TODAY
Updated Thu, August 10, 2023

At least 36 people have died, officials say, and hundreds of structures have been destroyed as fires continue to rage on the island of Maui in Hawaii.

The fires first began Tuesday, and have since grown and spread in destruction, forcing hundreds of evacuations and leaving thousands without power.

The exact cause of the fires is unknown, although some experts believe human development on the island is at least partly to blame, including nonnative grass planted by plantation owners unfamiliar with the native ecosystem, which is dry and prone to fires.

The National Guard has been activated by Hawaii officials to assist police in Maui. The areas most impacted include Lahaina, a residential and tourist area with a commercial district in West Maui; Kula, a residential area in the inland, mountainous Upcounty region; and Kihei, a mix of homes, condos, short-term vacation rentals and visitor facilities in South Maui.

How did the Maui fires start? What we know about humans making disasters worse

Maui fires: Lahaina Is ‘like a war zone,’ Maui evacuees say
Aerial photos show damage to Lahaina, Banyan Court

Lahaina's iconic banyan tree, planted in 1873 after being imported from India, was threatened by this week's fires and suffered damage to trunks and limbs, but remains standing, the Honolulu Civil Beat reported.

Aerial photos show what Banyan Court looks like after fires tore through the island.

In this image obtained fro the US Department of Defense, a Hawaii Army National Guard CH47 Chinook performs aerial water bucket drops on wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui, August 9, 2023. Fast-moving wildfires have claimed at least 36 lives in the US tourist paradise of Hawaii, where rescuers raced Thursday to evacuate more people from the worst-hit island of Maui. Brushfires on Maui's west coast -- fueled by high winds from a hurricane passing to the south -- broke out Tuesday and rapidly engulfed the seaside town of Lahaina. (Photo by Andrew Jackson / US Department of Defense / AFP)More

In this image obtained fro the US Department of Defense, a Hawaii Army National Guard CH47 Chinook performs aerial water bucket pick up to fight wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui, August 9, 2023. Fast-moving wildfires have claimed at least 36 lives in the US tourist paradise of Hawaii, where rescuers raced Thursday to evacuate more people from the worst-hit island of Maui. Brushfires on Maui's west coast -- fueled by high winds from a hurricane passing to the south -- broke out Tuesday and rapidly engulfed the seaside town of Lahaina. (Photo by Andrew Jackson / US Department of Defense / AFP)More

This combination of pictures created on August 09, 2023 shows an overview of Banyan court in Lahaina, Hawaii. The photo on the left was taken June 25, 2023 before wildfires dealt widespread damage in the area. The photo on the right was taken August 9, 2023, after fires had passed through. At least 36 people have been killed in a wildfire that has razed the Hawaiian town of Lahaina, officials said on August 9, 2023 with desperate residents jumping into the ocean in a bid to escape the fast-moving flames.More

In this image obtained fro the US Department of Defense, a Hawaii Army National Guard CH47 Chinook performs aerial water bucket drops on wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui, August 9, 2023. Fast-moving wildfires have claimed at least 36 lives in the US tourist paradise of Hawaii, where rescuers raced Thursday to evacuate more people from the worst-hit island of Maui. Brushfires on Maui's west coast -- fueled by high winds from a hurricane passing to the south -- broke out Tuesday and rapidly engulfed the seaside town of Lahaina. (Photo by Andrew Jackson / US Department of Defense / AFP)More

A satellite image provided by Maxar focuses on the historic Lahaina area before wildfires which have engulfed large areas of the Hawaiian island of Maui.

A satellite image provided by Maxar focuses on the historic Lahaina area before wildfires which have engulfed large areas of the Hawaiian island of Maui.

A satellite image provided by Maxar focuses on the historic Lahaina area on Aug. 9, 2023 after wildfires which have engulfed large areas of the Hawaiian island of Maui.

A satellite image provided by Maxar focuses on the historic Lahaina area on Aug. 9, 2023 after wildfires which have engulfed large areas of the Hawaiian island of Maui.

This handout video grab courtesy of Richard Olsten taken on August 9, 2023 shows smoke billowing from destroyed buildings as wildfires burn across Maui, Hawaii. At least 36 people have been killed in a wildfire that has razed a Hawaiian town, officials said Wednesday, as desperate residents jumped into the ocean in a bid to escape the fast-moving flames.More

This handout video grab courtesy of Richard Olsten taken on August 9, 2023 shows smoke billowing from destroyed buildings as wildfires burn across Maui, Hawaii. At least six people have been killed in a wildfire that has razed a Hawaiian town, officials said Wednesday, as desperate residents jumped into the ocean in a bid to escape the fast-moving flames. (Photo by Richard Olsten / AFP)More

This handout video grab courtesy of Richard Olsten taken on August 9, 2023 shows smoke billowing from destroyed buildings as wildfires burn across Maui, Hawaii. At least six people have been killed in a wildfire that has razed a Hawaiian town, officials said Wednesday, as desperate residents jumped into the ocean in a bid to escape the fast-moving flames. (Photo by Richard Olsten / AFP)

Waiola Church

Photos from the ground show destroyed buildings, recovery efforts

People watch as smoke and flames fill the air from raging wildfires on Front Street in downtown Lahaina, Maui, Maui officials say a wildfire in the historic town burned parts of one of the most popular tourist areas in Hawaii.

Smoke is seen in the distance while driving towards Lahaina. Wildfires in Hawaii fanned by strong winds burned multiple structures in areas including historic Lahaina town, forcing evacuations and closing schools in several communities Wednesday, and rescuers pulled a dozen people escaping smoke and flames from the ocean.More

People set up in the War Memorial gymnasium, a shelter that opened in Wailuku, Maui on Aug. 9, 2023. Wildfires in Hawaii fanned by strong winds burned multiple structures in areas including historic Lahaina town, forcing evacuations and closing schools in several communities Wednesday, and rescuers pulled a dozen people escaping smoke and flames from the ocean.More

Mauro Farinelli and his wife Judit stand with their dog Susi at an evacuation shelter in Wailuku, Hawaii on Thursday, Aug. 9, 2023 after escaping fires that engulfed their town of Lahaina on the island of Maui. Wildfires have devastated parts of the Hawaiian island of Maui, killing multiple people, damaging or destroying over 270 structures and reducing most of a historic town to ash. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy)More

Flames from a wildfire burn in Kihei, Hawaii Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. Thousands of residents raced to escape homes on Maui as blazes swept across the island, destroying parts of a centuries-old town in one of the deadliest U.S. wildfires in recent years. (AP Photo/Ty O'Neil)

A wildfire burns in Kihei, Hawaii early Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023. Thousands of residents raced to escape homes on Maui as blazes swept across the island, destroying parts of a centuries-old town in one of the deadliest U.S. wildfires in recent years. (AP Photo/Ty O'Neil)

Maui fires leave wake of devastation: Here's how you can donate or volunteer.
Fires cause delays, canceled flights: Photos from the Kahului Airport in Maui

Passengers try to sleep below a "Welcome To Maui" billboard on the floor of the airport terminal while waiting for delayed and canceled flights off the island as thousands of passengers were stranded at the Kahului Airport (OGG) in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui in Kahului, Hawaii on August 9, 2023. The death toll from a wildfire that turned a historic Hawaiian town to ashes has risen to 36 people, officials said on August 9. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)More

Passengers wait for delayed and canceled flights off the island as thousands of passengers were stranded at the Kahului Airport (OGG) in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui in Kahului, Hawaii on August 9, 2023. The death toll from a wildfire that turned a historic Hawaiian town to ashes has risen to 36 people, officials said on August 9. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)More

People gather at the Kahului Airport while waiting for flights Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023, in Kahului, Hawaii. Several thousand Hawaii residents raced to escape homes on Maui as the Lahaina fire swept across the island, killing multiple people and burning parts of a centuries-old town. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Passengers try to rest and sleep while waiting for delayed and canceled flights off the island as thousands of passengers were stranded at the Kahului Airport (OGG) in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui in Kahului, Hawaii on August 9, 2023. The death toll from a wildfire that turned a historic Hawaiian town to ashes has risen to 36 people, officials said on August 9. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)More

Passengers try to sleep on the floor of the airport terminal while waiting for delayed and canceled flights off the island as thousands of passengers were stranded at the Kahului Airport (OGG) in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui in Kahului, Hawaii on August 9, 2023. The death toll from a wildfire that turned a historic Hawaiian town to ashes has risen to 36 people, officials said on August 9. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)More

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Maui fires: Lahaina, Banyan Court damage seen in aerial photos

A wildfire on Maui kills at least 6 as it sweeps through historic town, forcing some into the ocean

Wed, August 9, 2023



KAHULUI, Hawaii (AP) — A wildfire tore through the heart of the Hawaiian island of Maui in total darkness Wednesday, reducing much of a historic town to ash and forcing people to jump into the ocean to flee the flames. At least six people died and dozens were wounded.

Acting Gov. Sylvia Luke said the flames “wiped out communities," and urged travelers to stay away.

“This is not a safe place to be,” she said.

The wind-driven conflagration swept into coastal Lahaina with alarming speed and ferocity, blazing through intersections and leaping across wooden buildings in the town center that dates to the 1700s and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Aerial video revealed entire blocks of homes and businesses flattened, including on Front Street, a popular shopping and dining area. Other images portray a scene of near-complete devastation. Smoking heaps of rubble lay piled high next to the waterfront and gray smoke hovered over the leafless skeletons of scorched trees.

“It was apocalyptic from what they explained,” Tiare Lawrence said of 14 cousins and uncles who fled as the inferno descended on the family’s hometown. “The heat. Smoke and flames everywhere. They had to get my elderly uncle out of the home.”

The relatives took refuge in Lawrence's house in Pukalani, east of Lahaina. She was also frantically trying to reach her siblings Wednesday morning, but there was no phone service.

Lahaina resident Keʻeaumoku Kapu was tying down loose objects in the wind at the cultural center he runs in Lahaina when his wife showed up Tuesday afternoon and told him they needed to evacuate. “Right at that time, things got crazy, the wind started picking up,” said Kapu, who added that they got out “in the nick of time.”

Two blocks away they saw fire and billowing smoke. Kapu, his wife and a friend jumped into his pickup truck. “By the time we turned around, our building was on fire," he said. "It was that quick.”

Crews on Maui were battling multiple blazes concentrated in two areas: the tourist destination on the western coast and an inland, mountainous region. In West Maui, 911 service was out and residents were directed to call the police department directly.

“Do NOT go to Lahaina Town,” the county tweeted hours before all roads in and out of the community of 12,000 residents were closed to everyone except emergency personnel.

The National Weather Service said Hurricane Dora, which was passing to the south of the island chain at a safe distance of 500 miles (805 kilometers), was partly to blame for gusts above 60 mph (97 kph) that knocked out power, rattled homes and grounded firefighting helicopters. Aircraft resumed flights Wednesday as the winds diminished somewhat.

The Coast Guard on Tuesday rescued 14 people, including two children, who had fled into the ocean to escape the fire and smoky conditions, the county said in a statement.

Fires killed six people on Maui, but search and rescue operations continued and the number could rise, County of Maui Mayor Richard Bissen Jr. said at a Wednesday morning news conference. He said he had just learned the news and didn't know the details of how or where the deaths happened.

Six patients were flown from Maui to the island of Oahu on Tuesday night, said Speedy Bailey, regional director for Hawaii Life Flight, an air-ambulance company. Three of them had critical burns and were taken to Straub Medical Center’s burn unit, he said. The others were taken to other Honolulu hospitals. At least 20 patients were taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center, he said.

Authorities said earlier Wednesday that a firefighter in Maui was hospitalized in stable condition after inhaling smoke.

Luke issued an emergency proclamation on behalf of Gov. Josh Green, who is traveling, and activated the Hawaii National Guard to assist.

“Certain parts of Maui, we have shelters that are overrun," Luke said. "We have resources that are being taxed.”

There’s no count available for the number of structures that have burned or the number of people who have evacuated, but officials said there were four shelters open and that more than 1,000 people were at the largest.

Kahului Airport, the main airport in Maui, was sheltering 2,000 travelers whose flights were canceled or who recently arrived on the island, the county said.

Officials were preparing the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu to take in up to 4,000 of displaced tourists and locals.

“Local people have lost everything,” said James Tokioka, director of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. “They’ve lost their house, they’ve lost their animals.”

Kapu, the owner of the Na Aikane o Maui cultural center in Lahaina, said he and his wife didn't have time to pack up anything before being forced to flee. “We had years and years of research material, artifacts,” he said.

Alan Dickar said he's not sure what remains of his Vintage European Posters gallery, which was a fixture on Front Street in Lahaina for 23 years. Before evacuating with three friends and two cats, Dickar recorded video of flames engulfing the main strip of shops and restaurants frequented by tourists.

“Every significant thing I owned burned down today,” he said. “I’ll be OK. I got out safely.”

Dickar, who assumed the three houses he owns are also destroyed, said it will take a heroic effort to rebuild what has burned.

“Everyone who comes to Maui, the one place that everybody goes is Front Street,” he said. “The central two blocks is the economic heart of this island, and I don’t know what’s left.”

The fires weren't only burning on Maui.

There have been no reports of injuries or homes lost to three wildfires burning on Hawaii’s Big Island, Mayor Mitch Roth said Wednesday. Firefighters did extinguish a few roof fires. One blaze is “pretty much under control,” he said. Another was 60% contained, and the other near Mauna Kea Resorts continued to have flareups, he said.

There are 30 power poles down around Lahaina, leaving homes, hotels and shelters without electricity, Bissen said. About 14,500 customers in Maui were without power early Wednesday, according to poweroutage.us.

“It’s definitely one of the more challenging days for our island given that it’s multiple fires, multiple evacuations in the different district areas,” County of Maui spokesperson Mahina Martin said.

In the Kula area of Maui, at least two homes were destroyed in a fire that engulfed about 1.7 square miles (4.5 square kilometers), Bissen said. About 80 people were evacuated from 40 homes, he said.

Fires in Hawaii are unlike many of those burning in the U.S. West. They tend to break out in large grasslands on the dry sides of the islands and are generally much smaller than mainland fires.

Fires were rare in Hawaii and on other tropical islands before humans arrived, and native ecosystems evolved without them. This means great environmental damage can occur when fires erupt. For example, fires remove vegetation. When a fire is followed by heavy rainfall, the rain can carry loose soil into the ocean, where it can smother coral reefs.

A major fire on the Big Island in 2021 burned homes and forced thousands to evacuate.

Lahaina is often thought of just a Maui tourist town, Lawrence said, but “we have a very strong Hawaiian community.”

“I’m just heartbroken. Everywhere, our memories,” she said. “Everyone’s homes. Everyone’s lives have tragically changed in the last 12 hours.”

___

This story was edited to correct that Bissen is the mayor of the County of Maui, not Lahaina.

___

Sinco Kelleher reported from Honolulu. Associated Press writer Beatrice Dupuy in New York contributed to this report.

Audrey Mcavoy And Jennifer Sinco Kelleher, The Associated Press

911 service, cell service, and some landlines are down in parts of Maui as 'unprecedented' wildfires rage, lieutenant governor says

Grace Eliza Goodwin
Aug 9, 2023,

A wildfire raging in Maui on Tuesday. Dominika Durisova/Reuters

Wildfires, fueled by winds from Hurricane Dora, have been raging across Hawaii this week.
911 service, cell phone service, and some landlines are down in parts of Maui.

The lieutenant governor called the situation in Hawaii right now "unprecedented

Cell phone service, 911 service, and some landlines are down in parts of Maui as "unprecedented" fires rage across the island, the lieutenant governor said on Wednesday.

Catastrophic wildfires have been devastating Maui and the big island of Hawaii since Tuesday, destroying homes and even prompting some residents to jump into the ocean to escape the fires. The state's lieutenant governor Sylvia Luke has called on President Joe Biden to declare a federal emergency, CNN reported.

High winds from Hurricane Dora, located about 500 miles from the Hawaiian islands, have made the fires especially difficult to control, according to the Maui Emergency Management Agency.

"The fact that we have wildfires in multiple areas as a result of indirectly from a hurricane is unprecedented; it's something that Hawaii residents and the state have not experienced," Luke told CNN on Wednesday morning.

The winds have also downed cell towers, making rescue efforts more challenging, CNN reported.

"911 is down. Cell service is down. Phone service is down," Luke told CNN. "That's been part of the problem. The Maui County has not been able to communicate with residents on the west side, the Lahaina side."

A spokesperson for the Maui Emergency Management Agency told CNN that even landlines are out in some areas of the island.

"What we are trying to do is deploy individuals to go into areas with satellite phone service," Luke told CNN, adding that emergency services have only been able to contact one hotel in the region because it has a satellite phone.


"That's the only way you can make connection," Luke added. "It's impeding communication. It's impeding efforts to evacuate residents and we are very concerned about that."

The Maui County Fire Department and the lieutenant governor's office did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

Wildfires on Hawaii’s Maui island: Evacuations, high winds fueling flames, emergency services down — here's what we know

The Big Island and Maui's town of Lahaina have been affected by wildfires fanned by Hurricane Dora’s powerful winds.



Niamh Cavanagh
·Reporter
Updated Wed, August 9, 2023 

At least six people were killed on the island of Maui on Wednesday after ferocious winds caused by Hurricane Dora in part fueled devastating wildfires across Hawaii, officials said.

Mayor Richard Bissen Jr. said "we are still in a search and rescue mode," and added that several people were unaccounted for.

Acting Gov. Sylvia Luke issued an emergency proclamation after what she called the “unprecedented wildfires,” which started on Tuesday, continued to spread on the islands of Hawaii (known as the Big Island) and Maui. “The safety of our residents is paramount, and this emergency proclamation will activate the Hawaiʻi National Guard to support emergency responders in the impacted communities,” Luke said in a statement. The National Guard was immediately activated.

As the fires continued into Wednesday, Maui’s hospitals became overwhelmed with patients suffering from fire-related injuries and illnesses. Schools were shut around the island and thousands of residents were left without power after dozens of utility poles were downed.

What caused the wildfires?

Wildfires were recorded on Hawaii's Big Island and Maui. (Yahoo News)

It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the wildfires, but Jeff Powell, a meteorologist in Honolulu, said they were sparked “kind of because of Hurricane Dora, but it’s not a direct result.”

Hurricane Dora, which is expected to pass western Johnston Island on Wednesday, passed 700 miles south of Honolulu and created winds of 130 mph on Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center said.

The National Weather Services warned of wind speeds as high as 60 mph and alerted those in the affected areas to expect power outages and difficulty traveling.

A wildfire burns in Lahaina, Hawaii, on the island of Maui on Wednesday. 

(Zeke Kalua/County of Maui via Reuters)

Read more on Yahoo News:

The Associated Press: Emergency official says multiple Maui wildfire burn patients have been flown to Honolulu hospital


The Independent: Climate-fueled wildfires take toll on tropical Pacific isles


Fox Weather: Hurricane Dora continues to trek well south of Hawaii as raging wildfires burn in Maui


The Weather Network: People forced to flee into sea to escape flames in popular Hawaii destination

The NWS said that “very dry conditions” and “potentially damaging easterly winds” would continue the “dangerous fire weather conditions” into Wednesday afternoon. “The fire can be a mile or more from your house, but in a minute or two, it can be at your house,” Maui County fire assistant chief Jeff Giesea said.

“The fact that we have wildfires in multiple areas as a result of indirectly from a hurricane is unprecedented; it's something that Hawaii residents and the state have not experienced,” Luke said.

Wildfires burn land, damage homes

Smoke and flames from raging wildfires fill the air on Front Street in downtown Lahaina, Hawaii. (Alan Dickar/AP)

Swaths of land on the Big Island and Maui, as well as town buildings and infrastructure, have been damaged from the fires. Videos shared on social media show parts of the historic town of Lahaina in Maui County, a community that is home to 12,000 people, engulfed in flames. A dozen Lahaina residents were forced to escape the fires by jumping into the surrounding sea. The U.S. Coast Guard launched a rescue operation to save those in the water.

“Multiple structures have burned and multiple evacuations are in place, as firefighter crews continue battling brush and structure fires in Upcountry and Lahaina areas,” county officials said.

In the last 24 hours, patients, including one firefighter, suffering from fire-related illnesses and emergencies have packed hospitals in Maui. Strong winds from the hurricane have cut off 911 emergency and cellphone services, Luke said.

A wildfire on Maui, Hawaii. (Dominika Durisova/Reuters)

At least 10 schools on the island have closed following the continued spread of brush fires while one, located in Central Maui, remains open as an evacuation shelter. According to PowerOutage.us, more than 14,000 in Hawaii are still without electricity.

"It's definitely one of the more challenging days for our island, given that it's multiple fires, multiple evacuations in the different district areas," Mahina Martin, a spokesperson from Maui County, said.