Maui Hawaii Wildfires, 97 dead, Aug 2023

Breezie

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2018
Messages
765
Reaction score
6,321





It doesn’t look like there is a thread for this yet.

What is crazy is that the Westboro church is supposed to be there this week to protest in Hawaii!


Aug. 6 (UPI) -- The controversial Westboro Baptist Church, based in Kansas, claimed that Hawaii will be "utterly destroyed" on Sunday.

It was not immediately clear why the church would travel from Topeka to Maui to protest the three congregations or how the church believes Hawaii will be destroyed. UPI has reached out to the churches for comment
 
Last edited:

Raging wildfires fanned by hurricane winds have devastated the historic town of Lahaina on Hawaii's island of Maui.

Brian Schatz, a US senator from the state, said on social media that Lahaina is "almost totally burnt to the ground".

At least six people were killed in Maui County, officials said on Wednesday.

Maui's hospital system has been overwhelmed with burn patients and people suffering from smoke inhalation.

"Firefighters are still trying to get the fires under control, and our first responders are in search and rescue mode," Mr Schatz said.

There were reports early on Wednesday that some people jumped into the ocean to escape the fast-moving flames. The US Coast Guard said it rescued at least a dozen people from the water.
 
We heard from a friend of ours who lives in Kihei and he evacuated upcountry to his cousin’s in Kula, but I see there is a fire up there too. It’s hard to get anywhere with crowded roads.


Crews were battling three fires in Maui: in Lahaina, south Maui’s Kihei area and the mountainous, inland communities known as Upcountry, said Mahina Martin, spokesperson for Maui County.

In the upcountry Kula area, at least two homes were destroyed Tuesday in a fire that engulfed about 1.7 square miles (4.5 square kilometers), County of Maui Mayor Richard Bissen Jr. said.
 
I just saw there's a thread on this awful situation. I've been following closely. I know Maui well, my brother's home....many visits there. It is a nightmare, the news gets worse and worse, heartbreaking for the lovely historic Lahaina, the residents, loss of homes and businesses, loss of life... It's catastrophic. I can't believe it.

Locals are saying there are way more deaths than the 6 reported. Not official yet.
Roads are blocked, 911 is not functioning, no where to escape....it's all so fast and uncontrollable.
The photos, videos and aerials are horrific.

My brother moved to Big Island last year so he's safe in Kailua-Kona, but he planned to return to Maui where his heart is.

 





It doesn’t look like there is a thread for this yet.

What is crazy is that the Westboro church is supposed to be there this week to protest in Hawaii!


Aug. 6 (UPI) -- The controversial Westboro Baptist Church, based in Kansas, claimed that Hawaii will be "utterly destroyed" on Sunday.

It was not immediately clear why the church would travel from Topeka to Maui to protest the three congregations or how the church believes Hawaii will be destroyed. UPI has reached out to the churches for comment
That's some serious WT* right there. They called it 2 days before the fires? I wonder if one or more of them made it to the island in "preparation" for their protest and....

I just hope LE investigates this group. This is awful. I feel so sorry for the islanders. I spent a few weeks long ago in the Lahaina area and loved it. It doesn't deserve to go down like this. :( :(

My prayers go out to them.
 
Death toll just announced to be 53.

They were still pulling bodies out of Lahaina Bay all this morning. Local residents went down early and started bringing those lost to shore.

A lot of people were caught in a traffic jam on Front Street - their cars are complete burned, the occupants had to jump into the bay.
 
Lahaina used to be the absolute quintessential old Hawaii town. You would mention Lahaina in a conversation and everyone would sigh and say Lahaina with a great smile on their face. The little harbor was always busy: the little submarine, the charter boats, the ferry to Lanai. Sailboats out on buoys. The place was always a charm and had the perfect sunset views.

Loggins and Messina have a lovely song, Lahaina. It's got that vibe going.


This is truly a historic loss by itself, but with 53 confirmed dead and hundreds still missing, it's just an epic blow to Maui.
 
Last edited:
Death toll will rise much higher I expect.
It's heart wrenching and unbelievable

Identification of Maui fire victims is not imminent as the wildfire death toll continues to climb, according to a county official.
"We're taking about burn victims. It would be unrealistic to expect identifications anytime soon", Maui County official.

Tiffany Kidder Winn, owner of Whaler’s Locker, told the Associated Press that she saw a line of burned-out vehicles on Front Street, some with charred bodies inside them. “It looks like they were trying to get out, but were stuck in traffic and couldn’t get off Front Street,” she said.

He (Lahaina resident and helper) added, “We’ve still got dead bodies floating on the seawall. They’ve been sitting there since last night. We’ve been pulling people out since last night, trying to save peoples’ lives.”

I'm heartsick for these people, and the community.
 
Hawaii News Now also has an IG updating continuously with news reports and videos.
So difficult to see the devastation.
 
I was expecting to see more trees, thinking that the wildfire was caused by a forest fire, but that doesn't appear to be the case from the photos. I wonder what might have caused this horrific fire.
I've been listening to the press conferences and there are no answers for the cause of the fire, and no one is speculating. The fires started, and they quickly turned into fire storms because of nearby hurricane winds and dry conditions.
 
In the latest press conference (that just ended) they suggested that up to 1000 people are unaccounted for. However, there is no power, no internet, no communication, so 1000 unaccounted for does not mean 1000 deceased.
 
It happened fast, and some are saying that evacuations orders were late or non-existent.

"Tiffany Kidder Winn's gift store Whaler's Locker, which is one of the town’s oldest shops, was among the many businesses destroyed. As she assessed the damage Thursday, she came upon a line of burned-out vehicles, some with charred bodies inside.

“It looked like they were trying to get out, but were stuck in traffic and couldn’t get off Front Street,” she said. She later spotted a body leaning against a seawall.
...

As the family fled, they called 911 when they saw the Hale Mahaolu senior living facility across the road erupt in flames.

Chelsey Vierra's grandmother, Louise Abihai, was living at Hale Mahaolu, and the family doesn't know if she got out. “She doesn’t have a phone. She’s 97 years old,” Vierra said Thursday. “She can walk. She is strong.”

 

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
80
Guests online
3,342
Total visitors
3,422

Forum statistics

Threads
592,490
Messages
17,969,738
Members
228,789
Latest member
Soccergirl500
Back
Top