By Matthew Polyak

On August 8th, 2023, an outbreak of wildfires broke out on Hawaii’s Maui Island. As of 5:32 PM August 17th, there have been 111 deaths associated with these fires, and tens of thousands have been evacuated from the island, while the Big Island of Hawaii has also dealt with non-lethal fires so far. Here is what to know about wildfires in Hawaii.

Latest Information

As mentioned above, the death toll has risen to 111 people, and is sadly expected to continue to rise. Authorities have estimated that there could be as many as 1,000 people missing, with search crews having searched through over 2,000 burnt homes and businesses over the last couple of days. 

The most destructive wildfire has been burning in Lahaina, Maui. It has burnt through an estimated 2,170 acres of land. According to the County of Maui, 89% of the fire has been contained, but there are portions of it still burning. The Olinda fire has burnt through 1,081 acres and has been 85% contained, while the Kula fire has been 80% contained, having burnt through 202 acres. Both fires are still burning as well. 

The Lahaina fire has been the most talked about news story, as it has now been named the deadliest US fire in over a century. The fire has destroyed over 2,200 structures, with 86% of them being residential buildings.  

Probable Causes and the Warning System Criticisms

The National Weather Service has not yet identified a direct cause of the fires; however, they had issued warnings for the Hawaiian Islands for dry weather and heavy winds—conditions that play a major role in the spread of wildfires. Wildfires can be caused by human activity, or by thunderstorms and volcanoes. 

Many people have turned on Hawaiian Electric, which is the major power company in Maui. They have faced heavy criticism from the public for not shutting down power lines when high winds came through the area (which created dangerous fire conditions). A company that runs a sensor network on Maui has come out and said that they detected major utility grid faults hours before the fires started. 

Emergency Management officials have also come under public scrutiny for not sounding warning sirens to alert citizens of the approaching wildfires. When asked about this, Maui Emergency Management Agency Administrator Herman Andaya said that she does not regret not sounding the sirens. Governor Josh Green also defended the choice, stating that if he had heard the sirens, he would have been expecting a Tsunami to come, since that is the default use of the sirens. And since that is what those sirens are primarily for, officials feared that citizens would evacuate into the mountainous part of the island, where the wildfires were worse and more dangerous, thus putting more people in danger.

Criticism of the Biden Administration’s Response 

There has been heavy criticism of President Biden’s response to these wildfires. When asked recently, he offered “no comment” to news reporters. The Biden family had been on a vacation, and many people have turned on the President, saying things such as “he doesn’t care about the American People.” 

Former Democratic State Representative Mark Kaniela Ing wrote the following in a now-deleted social media post: ”I campaigned for you. Now, when I lose dozens of my friends, family, and neighbors. This?” On Fox News, Kaniela Ing said “When things like this happen, it’s really the time to — if you do the kind of work I do, when the wave crests, you’ve got to paddle hardest,” he said. “When tragedies like this occur, it’s shocking to see people just conducting business as usual. … On the one hand, you don’t want everyone to be in a perpetual somber mood, but on the other hand, how can you just carry on like that?” 

Later, the White House released a statement saying that the Bidens were praying for all of the families affected by the disaster. In the same press release, it was also announced that the President would be traveling to Maui on Monday. 

Many have continued to criticize the response from government officials (including the President), and the increased pressure has seemed to get more officials to pay attention and act. It is clear that Maui and the Hawaiian Islands will need as much help as possible. All that we can do now is pray for the families affected and for the first responders fighting the fires. 

The American Red Cross has released information on how to donate. For those interested in helping people specifically affected by the Hawaii wildfires, you can still select Hawaii Wildfires on redcross.org, or call 1-800-RED-CROSS (800-733-2767), or text the word HAWAII to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

WORKS CITED: 

• NYTIMES.COM 
• REUTERS.COM 
• FOXINESS.COM 
• CNN.COM 
• ABCNEWS.GO.COM 
• REDCROSS.ORG 
• WHITEHOUSE.GOV 
• NBCNEWS.COM