A wildfire almost completely destroyed Lahaina, the old capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
A large wildfire that started on the island of Maui in Hawaii on Tuesday has caused great destruction to the islands’ historical attractions. The fire is now mostly under control. However, it claimed the lives of at least 53 people. The number of victims is feared to increase considerably.
The giant fire that started on Tuesday also spread to the historic town of Lahaina in the western corner of Maui. Lahaina is known for the king of Hawaii who was influential in the early 19th century of Kamehameha as a residential city.
Kamehameha defeated the rulers of the neighboring islands and united Hawaii into a unified kingdom. Kamehameha’s descendants kept Lahaina as their capital from 1820 to 1845. After this, Honolulu was declared the capital.
The Hawaiian kings and queens who followed Kamehameha are buried in the Waiola Church Cemetery in Lahaina. The stone church was left in the middle of the sea of flames that destroyed Lahaina. The damage to the church has not yet been assessed in detail.
Lahaina has been one of Hawaii’s most important tourist destinations. Its waterfront, Front Street, was famous for its stylish restaurants, bars and shops. Also growing along the street was the banyan tree, said to be the largest in the United States, a plant belonging to the fig family with huge aerial roots.
– [Front Streetin tuho] it’s like losing a family member. It can never be rebuilt, the same way we can’t get our fathers and mothers back, said a 66-year-old Hawaiian to the AP news agency Francine Hollinger.
Exceptional dryness
Lahaina was a very popular tourist destination, not least because of its favorable climate for vacationing. Ironically, the name Lahaina comes from a Hawaiian word that means “merciless sun” or, more commonly, drought.
Wildfires have not been uncommon in the Hawaiian Islands. This year, however, the conditions have been particularly favorable for a large fire, says a San Jose University meteorology professor interviewed by Reuters Graig Clements.
According to him, this year Maui has experienced an exceptional drought compared to the conditions in Hawaii. In addition, the prevailing winds on the island are apt to fuel a wildfire if one were to ignite.
Some parts of Maui are steep mountains. The prevailing wind is from the northeast. It rises up the mountainside and eventually descends behind the ridge. At this point, the wind speed near the ground can accelerate strongly. A similar phenomenon is known in many mountainous coastal regions, says Clements.
Vegetation affects the fire sensitivity of the area, Clements continues.
– When the temperature is high, water evaporation increases. You can also think that the plants are thirstier. Plants use more water when the air temperature is high. Consequently, the remaining water is lost faster, used by plants and used by humans.
The fire was also caused by harmful alien species
Deputy director of Hawaii’s wildfire management agency Elizabeth Pickett tells Reuters that alien species that have entered the islands are making wildfires worse.
– We have this additional problem, because our island groups have been taken over by fire-sensitive grass plants from different parts of the world. We now have alien species that have spread to agricultural fallow lands.
According to Pickett, the grass has filled the space left between the bushes that traditionally grow on the islands. Fire spreads more easily when it can move from a bush to the next bush via grass.
According to Pickett, the alien species has spread to a quarter of the state.
When Maui starts to be rebuilt again, experts emphasize that there is much that could be done to prevent wildfires.
Sources: Reuters, AP