Hawaii Wildfire

[akt1985]

The recent wildfires on the island of Maui in Hawaii is quickly turning into a natural tragedy in American History. Death toll is at 99 as of Monday Evening and still rising. Early speculation is that downed power lines, a flash drought and strong trade winds from Hurricane Dora caused the wildfire.

 

[akt1985]

Death toll up to 110 now. Apparently there was a break down in communication with warning sirens not being sounded and many people not getting alerts on their phones about the fire.

 

[thundersnow]

Very sad, and it hits close to home since my wife and I were just there in Lahaina (Maui) two years ago. Looking at the photos, I remember walking those streets and along the marina in the very places that burnt to the ground.

 

[thundersnow]

There's a particularly eerie photo of burnt out cars still in the traffic jam in the streets where they were left as people were trying to flee. People had to abandon their vehicles and make a run for the water to escape in many cases.

 

[TH2002]

Looking at the images that @thundersnow mentioned, I think it really puts into perspective that anyone who CAN escape a wildfire in a vehicle is incredibly, incredibly lucky (drawing parallels to footage from the 2015 Valley Fire and 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire). Vehicle engines often stall during wildfires as the fire sucks in oxygen, or if smoke particles from the fire clog the vehicle's air filter.

Tragedies like the Lahaina fire and the Joplin tornado also highlight the major flaws that still exist in modern warning systems, and why it's absolutely critical for warning systems to work effectively...

 

[akt1985]

Death toll up to 114. The chief emergency manager for Maui has resigned. This botched mess as far as response is starting to remind me of what happened after Katrina. Let’s just hope we don’t have a final death toll rivaling that of Hurricane Katrina.