Listen to this articleUpdated August 16, 2023
By Sean Greene, Iris Lee, Rong-Gong Lin and Vanessa Martínez
The fires on Maui are the deadliest in 100 years of U.S. history.
Officials have confirmed the deaths of more than 100 people, with about 1,300 still missing. In Lahaina, West Maui, more than 2,200 homes, apartment buildings and other structures were damaged or destroyed.
The first warning signs came more than a week ago, when on Aug. 4 the National Weather Service said to expect dry weather and high fire danger in Hawaii the following Monday into Wednesday as a system of low pressure — namely, a hurricane — moved from southeast of Hawaii to southwest of the state, while high pressure remained to its north.
Because air moves from high pressure to low pressure, the weather setting would subject the state to fire weather, the agency reiterated Sunday, with Hawaii caught between wind blowing from northeast of the state to its southwest – similar to Santa Ana wind events in Southern California.
Maui County warned residents in a Facebook post that “strong winds may lead to property damage. Winds may blow down trees, power lines and roofs. Power outages are possible.”
What happened next would result in the destruction of a one-time capital of the Hawaiian kingdom.
Later that evening, Maui County officials urge people to shelter in place “if you are not in an impacted area.” Authorities say “road closures are occurring as needed due to zero visibility,” and that the 911 system in West Maui is unavailable.
At 3:15 a.m. the next day, the high wind warning ends.
Eventually, almost all of Lahaina was reduced to ash.
Satellite imagery captured over Maui on the afternoon of Aug. 9 shows the extent of the loss.
Lahaina Intermediate School
Lahaina Intermediate School
(Planet Labs PBC)
(Satellite image ©2023 Maxar Technologies)
(Satellite image ©2023 Maxar Technologies)
Lahaina Square
Shopping Center
(Satellite image ©2023 Maxar Technologies)
Lahaina Square
Shopping Center
(Satellite image ©2023 Maxar Technologies)
Lahaina Recreation Center
(Satellite image ©2023 Maxar Technologies)
Lahaina Recreation Center
(Satellite image ©2023 Maxar Technologies)
The federal government estimates that the cost to rebuild will exceed $5.5 billion, according to the Pacific Disaster Center and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. At least 4,500 people are in need of shelter.
