Has anyone here been to Lahaina, Maui?

Devastating

The town had a very rich history.

It is (or was? sigh.) a cute place, not very big, drier than LA, actually. ("Lahaina" means "merciless sun" in Hawaiian.) It's a lot what you would expect from a. tourist beach town -- restaurants, galleries, etc. I went on an epic whale watching tour that departed from Lahaina. There's also a large, historical tree near the center of tree. Although I feel awful for the people who are affected, I wonder how that tree is doing, too.

That huge weird tree, yes! I remember Brian Wilson had an art gallery there. I think we went on our whale watching trip from there too.

What a shame.

Been there more than a few times....it's just down the road.

At least they preempted national programming to give us the latest...but the image itself isn't aging well.

Mick Fleetwood has a restaurant in Lahaina called "Fleetwood's."

It's probably gone now.

The night they burned Lahaina down

and all the people were singing

Wow, the death toll is up to 36.

But at least Brigette is happy that the church is still standing. WTF kind of reporting is that!!??

WAILUKU, Hawaii (AP) — Thousands of Hawaii residents raced to escape homes on Maui as blazes swept across the island, destroying parts of a centuries-old town and killing at least 36 people in one of the deadliest U.S. wildfires in recent years.

The fire took the island by surprise, leaving behind burned-out cars on once busy streets and smoking piles of rubble where historic buildings had stood in Lahaina Town, which dates to the 1700s and has long been a favorite destination for tourists. Crews battled blazes in several places on the island Wednesday, and the flames forced some adults and children to flee into the ocean.

At least 36 people have died, according to a statement from Maui County late Wednesday that said no other details were available on the deaths. Officials said earlier that 271 structures were damaged or destroyed and dozens of people injured.

Lahaina residents Kamuela Kawaakoa and Iiulia Yasso described a harrowing escape under smoke-filled skies Tuesday afternoon. The couple and their 6-year-old son got back to their apartment after a quick dash to the supermarket for water, and only had time to grab a change of clothes and run as the bushes around them caught fire.

“We barely made it out,” Kawaakoa said at an evacuation shelter on Wednesday, still unsure if anything was left of their apartment.

As the family fled, a senior center across the road erupted in flames. They called 911, but didn't know if the people got out. Fire alarms blared. As they drove away, downed utility poles and fleeing cars slowed their progress.

Kawaakoa, 34, grew up in the apartment building, called Lahaina Surf, where his dad and grandmother also lived.

“It was so hard to sit there and just watch my town burn to ashes and not be able to do anything," Kawaakoa said. “I was helpless.”

Tourists were advised to stay away, and about 11,000 visitors flew out of Maui on Wednesday, with at least another 1,500 expected to leave Thursday, according to Ed Sniffen, state transportation director. Officials prepared the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu to take in the thousands who have been displaced.

The fires were whipped by strong winds from Hurricane Dora passing far to the south. It's the latest in a series of disasters caused by extreme weather around the globe this summer. Experts say climate change is increasing the likelihood of such events.

As winds eased somewhat on Maui, some flights resumed Wednesday, allowing pilots to view the full scope of the devastation. Aerial video from Lahaina showed dozens of homes and businesses razed, including on Front Street, where tourists once gathered to shop and dine. Smoking heaps of rubble lay piled high next to the waterfront, boats in the harbor were scorched, and gray smoke hovered over the leafless skeletons of charred trees.

About 14,500 customers in Maui were without power early Wednesday. With cell service and phone lines down in some areas, many people were struggling to check in with friends and family members living near the wildfires.

Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara, from the Hawaii State Department of Defense, told reporters Wednesday night that officials were working to get communications restored, to distribute water, and possibly adding law enforcement personnel. He said National Guard helicopters had dropped 150,000 gallons of water on the Maui fires.

Richard Bissen Jr., the mayor of Maui County, said at a Wednesday morning news conference that officials hadn't yet begun investigating the immediate cause of the fires, but officials did point to the combination of dry conditions, low humidity and high winds.

Mauro Farinelli, of Lahaina, said the winds had started blowing hard on Tuesday, and then somehow a fire had started up on a hillside.

“It just ripped through everything with amazing speed,” he said, adding it was “like a blowtorch.”

The winds were so strong they blew his garage door off its hinges and trapped his car in the garage, Farinelli said. So a friend drove him, along with his wife, Judit, and dog, Susi, to an evacuation shelter. He had no idea what had happened to their home.

“We’re hoping for the best,” he said, “but we’re pretty sure it’s gone.”

President Joe Biden ordered all available federal assets to help with the response. He said the Hawaii National Guard had mobilized helicopters to help with fire suppression as well as search and rescue efforts.

“Our prayers are with those who have seen their homes, businesses and communities destroyed," Biden said in a statement.

Former President Barack Obama, who was born in Hawaii, said on social media that it’s tough to see some of the images coming out of a place that is so special to many.

Wildfires also burned on Hawaii’s Big Island, Mayor Mitch Roth said, although there had been no reports of injuries or destroyed homes there.

Acting Gov. Sylvia Luke issued an emergency proclamation on behalf of Gov. Josh Green, who was traveling, and urged tourists to stay away.

“This is not a safe place to be,” she said.

Green's office said he'd cut short his trip to return Wednesday evening.

Fires in Hawaii are unlike many of those burning in the U.S. West. They tend to break out in large grasslands on the dry sides of the islands and are generally much smaller than mainland fires. A major fire on the Big Island in 2021 burned homes and forced thousands to evacuate.

The 2018 Camp Fire in the Sierra Nevada foothills of California killed at least 85 people and destroyed nearly 19,000 homes.

Alan Dickar, who owns a poster gallery and three houses in Lahaina, said most tourists who come to Maui visit Front Street.

“The central two blocks is the economic heart of this island, and I don’t know what’s left,” he said.

Dickar took video of flames engulfing the main strip before escaping with three friends and two cats.

“Every significant thing I owned burned down today,” he said. “I’ll be OK. I got out safely.”

Gio Benitez is there now.

Very sad, though unfortunately, not surprising. I think this is our new reality

This will be called the WORSE fire in US History, far surpassing the 85 killed in the Paradise, California "Camp Fire".

CNN is stating over a thousand people are unaccounted for.

Lahaina was a cute (albeit touristy ala Pier 39 / South Street Seaport caliber) village next to the Kanappali resort area, where you'd often visit for a bite and souvenirs.

I got leid, ate poi in the shade and, yeah, it was lotsa fun/

Had a 3-way with Don Ho atop a volcano, under the tropic sun/

I've been to Waikiki- but I've never been to meee.

R14, I live fairly close to Paradise, and I had been in the town 3 days before the fire, looking at cheap real estate. And FYI for four years the rumor has been that the real death toll was far higher than 85, that the wind-fueled fire swept through the forest so fast and so early in the day that it people living in outlying cabins or off the grid were burned in their beds or while attempting to flee through endless burning forest, and the authorities don't want to admit the real death toll because they'd look negligent. Now I'm hoping the real death toll was lower in Lahaina, which is so small that most people would have had a shot at running into the ocean, but who knows. A firestorm being pushed by high winds can move with incredible speed, and not everyone can sprint.

Now the town of Paradise has been rebuilt, but you know what the new reality is going to be? Fires everywhere due to climate change, with no insurance company willing to offer fire insurance, or paying up without a fight after one happens. It's going to be another mass failure of the free-market system, like the free-market system is failing to provide low-income housing in the US because it's not profitable. Rebuilding towns after wildfires isn't profitable for insurance companies, so they're either charging rates that most people can't afford to pay, or refusing to offer any insurance for the most vulnerable areas.

So the new reality is going to be wildfires everywhere there are trees... with no fire insurance paid or available. It'll mean regular people losing their homes and livelihoods, with no response from the capitalist oligarchy but a "Tough shit".

R14 Oprah was at a eeting with billionaires right before this. They wanted the land without people on it. When the people retalliated they started internet service on a SP islamd. Probably where uou will find her friend Epstein.

I believe Oprah was eating at her eeting with billionaires.

It was the first and only time I've eaten at a Bubba Gump shrimp restaurant. Not bad.

No, I can barely spell it, I'd get lost.

In Lahaina all seems to breathe freedom and peace, and to make one forget the world and its sad turmoils.

I believe that large tree is coming back to life

[quote]No, I can barely spell it, I'd get lost.

So you have no plans to visit Llanfair pwllgwyngyll in Wales?

[quote] It was the first and only time I've eaten at a Bubba Gump shrimp restaurant. Not bad.

You go to Lahaina and eat at a chain restaurant?