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Showing posts from August, 2023

What caused the Maui fire?

  What caused the Maui fire? An investigation is underway to determine what initially sparked the wildfires, and the cause has not been officially determined. Investigators are looking into whether downed power lines and decisions by Hawaiian Electric, the state's primary power company, played a role.  Much of Hawaii was under a red flag warning for fire risk when the wildfires broke out, with dangerous high wind conditions caused by Hurricane Dora, a Category 4 storm that was moving across the Pacific Ocean hundreds of miles south of the Hawaiian islands. "We don't know what actually ignited the fires, but we were made aware in advance by the National Weather Service that we were in a red flag situation — so that's dry conditions for a long time, so the fuel, the trees and everything, was dry," Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara, commander general of the Hawaii Army National Guard, said at a briefing Wednesday, Aug. 9. That, along with low humidity and high winds, "set ...

How did the Maui fire start? What we know about the cause of the Lahaina blaze

  How did the Maui fire start? What we know about the cause of the Lahaina blaze Deadly wildfires in Hawaii, which killed over 100 people and forced thousands to evacuate , were fueled by a mix of land and atmospheric conditions that can create "fire weather." A massive blaze destroyed much of the historic town of Lahaina, on Maui, and the search for victims continued as hundreds remained missing. Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said Sunday there is "very little left" of Lahaina, where more than 2,700 structures have been destroyed in what is now the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. Green said he expects the death toll to keep climbing.  "There are more fatalities that will come," Green told CBS News. "The fire was so hot that what we find is the tragic finding that you would imagine, as though a fire has come through and it's hard to recognize anybody." While Maui grapples with the devastating losses and officials work to implement rel...