Maui

[Jolly]

No comment.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/08/14/president-biden-reportedly-says-no-comment-when-asked-about-rising-death-toll-in-hawaii/

[LuFins Dad]

I am also shocked at the failure of the communications system. They live on an active volcano, are surrounded by other volcanoes, are subject to Tsunamis, and yes, can be subject to hurricanes. I would think the emergency alert system in Hawaii would be rather robust…

[George K]

@Jolly said in Maui:

No comment.

Saw that. Before he went on his (most recent) vacation, he made a statement about putting the government's resources to help.

Still, sitting on the beach when over a hundred are dead from fires in Hawaii is almost as bad as flying over New Orleans after a hurricane.

Almost.

[Jolly]

@LuFins-Dad said in Maui:

I am also shocked at the failure of the communications system. They live on an active volcano, are surrounded by other volcanoes, are subject to Tsunamis, and yes, can be subject to hurricanes. I would think the emergency alert system in Hawaii would be rather robust…

It is. They have multiple sirens on each island. For whatever reason, the sirens did not go off and authorities resorted to texts and media to get the word out.

As they look back on this, I'm sure this issue will be examined.

[George K]

@Jolly said in Maui:

For whatever reason, the sirens did not go off and authorities resorted to texts and media to get the word out.

The spin is that the sirens weren't there to warn people of a disaster, but to "seek information."

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/12/us/warning-sirens-never-sounded-maui.html?smid=tw-share

None of the 80 warning sirens placed around Maui were activated by the island or the state’s emergency management agencies in response to the devastating Lahaina fire, a spokesman confirmed on Saturday.

Hawaii boasts what it describes as the largest system of outdoor public safety warning sirens in the world, alarms that blare in cases of danger. Residents who survived the fire have wondered aloud why no one activated the sirens, which emit noises at a higher decibel level than a loud rock concert and can be heard from more than half a mile away.

The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency’s spokesman, Adam Weintraub, confirmed on Saturday that the sirens were not activated, and he stressed that the sirens alone would not have been a sign to evacuate, but for residents to seek more information.

[Jolly]

@LuFins-Dad said in Maui:

I’m surprised there hasn’t already been a thread about this. 96 dead and still hundreds missing… Many of the dead they’ve still not been able to identify due to the damage caused.

I’ve yet to see a good timeline explanation to the fire. I understand that the biggest culprit seems to be these invasive grasses that have been brought to the island? I would love to see a good explanation besides climate change. Maui’s had droughts before that were even more severe but we’ve never witnessed this over the past 150 years…

I read something by a person raised on the island, who said cane and pineapple fields had not been planted in many years and had reverted to grassland. I don't know about pineapple fields, but cane fields undergo controlled burns as part of raising the crop.

Maybe the situation was similar to some of the stuff in California, where local actions have actually increased the fire hazard?

[Copper]

I found out last night that my cousin is vacationing in Lahaina. He and his wife and children are ok, and trying to get off the island so they can find their way home.

I have 30+ cousins, so there are plenty where he came from.

My understanding of what made this event so deadly was that the winds were unusually high and that caused the fire to move very quickly. And there were people who were trying to escape the flames by going into the ocean where they were overcome by smoke and heavy currents.

[Mik]

That’s true about the plantations. The fields have all reverted to grasslands.

There’s also suspicion of arson.

But Maui was beautiful when we were there in April. Very sad.

[George K]

Someone, please tell me there's more to this story.

[Copper]

[Horace]

@Copper said in Maui:

@George-K said in Maui:

more to this story.

Whenever a disaster inconveniences a certain number of people, the survivors become wards of the state and the president must make them whole.

What is the magic number? It isn't really a number, it's more like the volume level of the mob.

See Katrina, Sandy, wu-flu and 9/11

What about people that have disasters but don't reach the specified volume level?
Tough.

Exactly. If something bad happens to you, you need to hope it happens to lots of other people at the same time.

[Jolly]

Tornadoes.

Perfect example.

[taiwan_girl]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/owners-nearly-100-old-wooden-202123828.html

The Maui wildfires that burned down Lahaina shockingly spared a red-roofed wooden house.

A photo shows the buildings on all sides of the house were destroyed.

Yard work and ample space may have saved it, experts say, since those are the best ways to protect your home from wildfire.

The wildfires that struck Maui earlier this month devastated the historic town of Lahaina, reducing nearly every building to ashy rubble — but one wooden house in the center of it all survived unscathed.

Experts say this red-roofed home offers a crucial lesson in wildfire safety.

[89th]

Probably a white person lived there.

[George K]

[Copper]

Which came first, the nitwit or the dementia?

[George K]

@Copper said in Maui:

Which came first, the nitwit or the dementia?

Yes.

[LuFins Dad]

Turns out the culprit wasn’t climate change, but CLEAN ENERGY was at last partially responsible!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/energy/2023/08/28/how-did-the-maui-fire-start-why-hawaii-s-power-lines-are-suspect/8ad1c7b4-45dd-11ee-b76b-0b6e5e92090d_story.html

[Mik]

How about that. It's pretty ridiculous to think climate change would impact Hawaii more than the ocean conditions.

[LuFins Dad]

@Mik said in Maui:

How about that. It's pretty ridiculous to think climate change would impact Hawaii more than the ocean conditions.

Even California’s wildfires are mostly caused by downed power lines…