On Tuesday, August 8, 2023, Hawaii was experiencing more winds than the usual. Yes, we're accustomed to 20mph trade winds, but this was way beyond that!
South of the islands, there was a hurricane that was passing by. We got the heavy winds, but none of the rain. It was like a dry hurricane from where we were at!
Here on Oahu, I was worried that my face shield, surgical mask, and even my eyeglasses were going to fly off. I saw people holding tightly to their hats.
I even wrote on Facebook "I usually like having some wind, but today just seems too much!"
Little did I know that the people in Lahaina, Maui were starting to experience something much worse. Much, much worse.
Most of the Hawaiian islands have a dry side (or we call it "leeward") and a wet side ("windward" with the winds bringing the rain). Lahaina is on the dry side of Maui.
The dry side of the islands tends to be vulnerable to brush fires. It's not unusual for someone's cigarette or campfire to go out of control and cause a brush fire on the leeward sides of the Hawaiian islands. Oahu's Waianae coast is notorious for its brush fires. However, even the usually green Mānoa Valley (up the mountain from where I'm at) had a brush fire on nearby Waahila Ridge in 2020 in an unusually dry year.
Dry areas plus extremely high winds are a recipe for disaster. Once a fire starts in a dry area, high winds can spread that fire very fast.
That's exactly what happened in Lahaina on August 8.
Nearly the whole town burned really fast. There wasn't much time to evacuate. Add to that, the town is surrounded by water on one side and mountains on the other side. There isn't much open space to evacuate to.
Some people even jumped off the harbor just to get away from the fire. Those with disabilities who had nobody to drive them out were screwed.
When it comes to fires, more people die from smoke inhalation than the actual burning from the fire itself.
At this point, at least 100 people are confirmed dead. More are missing.
The actual cause of the fire is still under investigation but it is believed that the strong winds knocked down some electric poles, which cause the fire which spread rapidly with the help of the strong winds.
The photos of Lahaina taken after the fires reminded me of images from Ukraine, Bosnia or Vietnam when those countries experienced war.
Lahaina had a special place in Hawaii's history. It was the former capital of the Hawaiian kingdom. Missionaries, whalers, and sailors would stop by. And in modern times, it was a resort town, kinda like a mini-Waikiki but without the tall buildings.
Tourism is pretty much dead for now. Tourists have been told to cancel or delay their trips.
One tourist, Jessica Hopkins of Redding, California caused controversy when she expressed disappointment that her planned flight to Maui got cancelled. To add insult to injury, she claimed the Lahaina fires weren't as bad as what her hometown experienced in 2018. Little did she know, Lahaina got it worse. The "Carr fires" that Redding experienced killed 8 people, Lahaina has 100+ dead. Also, Redding is far inland of California, so there's open space to evacuate to. Lahaina is trapped between the ocean and mountains.
Meanwhile, those who call Lahaina home are facing a dire future. Their homes are gone. Their workplaces are gone. They will have to rebuild everything again. Recovery will take years before things go back to normal.
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In the past, I had doubts about global warming (which was the common phrase before people switched to using the term "climate change").
I don't doubt it now.
In July, many places in the world faced record-breaking heat waves. Places like India, Italy, Greece, Arizona, and Texas had it really bad.
Last month, Hawaii was lucky. We didn't experience any of those heat waves. Life was good here.
But this month was a reminder that we in Hawaii aren't immune to natural disasters.
I don't doubt climate change, but at the same time, the transition away from fossil fuels and towards renewables isn't going to happen at the fast pace that many environmental activists prefer. We did close a coal plant in Oahu last year, which did increase our electric bills. People will have limited tolerance for higher bills. We barely even tolerate higher gasoline prices. (Though in my case, I take the bus, so gas prices are usually "out of sight, out of mind" for me). The reality is that we'll continue to burn fossil fuels a little while longer, until we have enough renewable infrastructure to power the entire electric grid without being too expensive. I think that day will come, just not as fast as we want it to be.
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During the wildfires, the Maui County government put the word out about evacuations on social media. They neglected to note that not everyone is on social media. They didn't put on the warning sirens that residents expect when disaster strike. While the sirens themselves aren't an evacuation notice, they do put people on alert that disaster is imminent and that it would be a good idea to turn on the radio/TV/etc RIGHT NOW for further information!
People in Hawaii tend to assume the sirens are just for tsunami warnings. But they can also apply to other disasters as well!
In the age of smartphones, some people take it for granted that everyone else has a smartphone, and they can get all urgent information on social media. But social media can be filled with conflicting information, especially when things are happening in real-time.
It is highly suggested to get a battery-powered radio, since they still work when there's a power outage. Also, the radio stations tend to verify information before making public announcements.
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note: I'll add more stuff here when they come to mind.
