Maui Wildfire Update – August 18
Aloha,
Here are the latest Maui wildfire news, updates, and resources you need to know.
Authorities reported progress in fire containment and recovery efforts in Lāhainā.
- As of Thursday night, Cadaver dog teams have searched about 60% of the impacted area. The death toll stands at 111, with more than 1,000 still missing.
- More than 1,000 federal officials are supporting recovery and relief efforts. Teams are scrambling to clear the remaining areas ahead of potentially heavy rain early next week.
Victims of the fires who have been living in shelters, tents, and their vehicles are being moved to hotel rooms as transition housing.
- The Red Cross announced that 750 federally-funded hotel rooms are available for at least the next 7-8 months, a period that will likely be extended.
- Priority is being given to individuals in shelters, followed by those who were sleeping in tents or vehicles.
- Maui County launched a new website – Maui Nui Strong – to provide a comprehensive list of information and resources for victims and those who want to help.
Experts are saying the tragedy on Maui must bring a new reckoning about the dangers of destructive wildfires.
- Hawaii has been facing stronger than normal winds and persistent dry conditions, part of a long-term trend of decreasing precipitation, as well as the spread of flammable and invasive grasses across what was once agricultural land.
- Molly Mowery, executive director of the Community Wildfire Planning Center believes “it truly is a confluence of factors that are all getting exacerbated.”
- The Washington Post said “development and tourism put people right in harm’s way, though many didn’t know it. And for many, there was no clear direction — or any warning — when it came to evacuation.”
- Wildfire resilience expert Kimiko Barrett says communities need to make strategic investments into efforts to harden homes, lay out evacuation protocols and incorporate better community design. She called for a dynamic shift in the US, where far more dollars are spent putting out flames than preventing them.
Hawaiian Electric faces an onslaught of new lawsuits and questions about their decisions leading up to the wildfires.
- A new team from ATF arrived today to help Maui officials identify the cause and origin of the fire.
- Data from a company that operates grid monitors detected 122 faults between Aug. 7 and Aug. 8 when the three major fires broke out. The abnormal electrical currents are often caused by some sort of equipment failure like a transformer exploding, a fallen power line or when two lines touch.
- “Any of those faults just like you see in the video from the bird sanctuary are likely to cause an arc or a spark. That means there’s molten shards of hot metal falling to the ground,” the company said.
- Five lawsuits related to the fires have been filed against Hawai‘i’s largest utility, including the first for the Kula fire.
Maui Water Director says its systems failed during the firefight because of catastrophic damage to pipes.
- Director John Stufflebean suggested that the lack of pressure reported by some firefighters can be attributed “so many pipes down-stream rupturing.”
- “An urban water system is designed for when there is a fire at an individual house on the system. No urban water system is designed to be able to withstand wildfires,” he added.
- Stufflebean said it didn’t need electricity from Hawaiian Electric to maintain the water pumps supplying the system and fire hydrants because back-up generators provided sufficient power to maintain pressure.
- Meanwhile, Native Hawaiian and environmental advocates are saying Governor Josh Green was wrong when he indicated that limits on stream water diversions had negatively impacted the firefighting response.
- "Blaming stream restoration for what happened, brah. If Maui Komohana had been the 'Venice of the Pacific' like it was, we wouldn't have had the wildfires to the extent that we did, because having water in the stream from mauka to makai cools that whole area, creates these riparian corridors. You know we wouldn't have had all these dry, invasive grasses,” said University of Hawai‘i professor Kapuaʻala Sproat
Finally, BG is proudly offering pro bono support to two events this weekend as part of our effort to stand with Maui. We encourage you to tune in – and chip in – what you can to support the organizations on the ground serving victims and helping Maui recover.
- Maui’s top musical talent is coming together for the Wiwo‘ole Maui Benefit Concert livestreamed from Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort on Saturday from 12:30 – 3:30 p.m.
- Maui Ola: A Benefit Concert for Maui this Sunday at the Bishop Museum Great Lawn. Doors open at 5 p.m.
Mahalo nui loa,
Your BG Team