Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii is on fire

Sad

 

Do I understand the story correctly that this was initially a forest fire that got out of control?

 

Just as a point of reference, Lahaina is where the Maui Invitational basketball tournament is held every year. It's a beautiful place where thousands of people live and work. This is devastating.

 

smaller fire stoked by 60 mph winds and became an epic wildfire almost overnight. Tragic images.

 

yes, the old town and main town for tourists in Maui. It will never be the same when it is rebuilt. I hope the massive banyan tree in the park survives somehow

 

oh crap, posted before I saw that

 

the state is considering requesting airlines to stop flying into Maui with tourists that strain resources and often have no place to go since so many units are in Lahaina

 

Absolutely the right call. My daughter was supposed to go next month with a friend whose family lives there. They haven’t been able to make contact with an elderly family member. Hopefully they’re safe and can’t connect because of the chaos.

 

lot of phone lines burned down and towers out of power or overloaded. hopefully they are safe. only part of the island is green and lush and other parts are very dry

 

That's really a shame.... that tree was so impressive in person. Pics/video don't do it justice. Never saw anything quite like it.

 

I remember the south side of east Maui as being grassland and exceptionally dry. I was shocked to realize it's on the wet/green western side.

 

That is heartbreaking. We were there a couple of years ago and the banyan tree was majestic!

 

the one at the Edison Museum in Ft Myers is officially the largest one in the US. planted in 1925 after being gifted from Henry Ford. second largest in the world, or at least it was pre-Ian

400 foot circumference

The Mighty Banyan 24674 | Ocean's Reach (oceansreach.com)

 

• Per CNN;
  
  
• At least six people have been killed in "unprecedented" wildfires that are raging across Hawaii's Big Island and Maui, officials confirmed.
• Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said much of the town of Lahaina is destroyed and hundreds of families have been displaced.

 

Wow, I was just there in June. We had a great lunch at Down the Hatch and watched sea turtles surfacing on Front Street.

I took a photo with the banyan tree, as somebody told me that Walter Becker (Steely Dan) lived there and it's the tree referenced in Aja. Regardless, it is (was?) fascinating in its size and scale.