A hurricane nearby fanning the flames. The famous 'endless tree' banyan tree gone. Lahaina's popular as a tropical Summer tourist spot, houses and condominiums sell for more than $5 million. All the major buildings on the main street Lahaina burned down. 4000 tourists  need to be evacuated off of Maui. 

 

PHJH Kapalua airport is 5 miles north of Lahaina. Not an Asobo bespoke airport, but Orbx makes one for MSFS.

I guess Gary Burgoff's Yogurt Shop has burnt down?  From news reports, it looked like downtown Lahaina is on fire! 😳

 

2 hours ago, charliearon said:

I guess Gary Burgoff's Yogurt Shop has burnt down?  From news reports, it looked like downtown Lahaina is on fire! 😳

 

Downtown Lahaina is gone. The banyan tree which stood for 150 years was destroyed. So many historical sites are gone forever. It's just devastating.

 

Words will not adequately convey the feelings of loss. My first trip to Hawaii, several years ago, included several days on Maui. I stayed in Kihei. One day included a drive to Lahaina for a Luau (and wishing we had spent more time exploring old Lahaina). On a subsequent trip to Maui, again staying in Kihei, we spent a full day exploring Lahaina. I shall never forget the many historical sites and the banyan tree, now no longer there.

I saw a post on Facebook showing a photo of the Cheeseburger In Paradise restaurant on Front St. The only thing left is a piece of the metal roof. This is so sad. We've been to that place so many times it almost feels like home. But the buildings aren't what's important...it's the people I worry about. There are many relief funds being started and anything that you might contribute would be a blessing. 

@ClaudeF Where did you stay in Kihei?  I went there in the late 70's with my sister and brother-in-law.  We stayed at a condo complex at Nani Kai Hale right next to Sugarbeach Resort.  Loved exploring the island from Lahaina all the way around to The road to Hana.  Also drove up to the top of Haleakala.

49 minutes ago, charliearon said:

@ClaudeF Where did you stay in Kihei?

We've made 3 trips to Hawaii. Each included time on Maui at Koa Lagoon Condo on South Kihei Road (about 3 miles south of Sugarbeach). Drove up to Haleakala and the challenging road to Hana (twice). The 2nd time on a tour, rather than drive, that circled the island. It was on the 3rd trip that we spent the day in Lahaina. We were seriously considering a return this fall and a possible stay in Lahaina to whale watch.

30 dead. Hundreds still missing. 

Yes this is devastating, bush fires aren't too common in Hawaii due to humidity but this one was a recipe for disaster due to the conditions at the time. Really sad to see the loss of these historical sites and loss of life

I lived most of my life in Lahaina and this is just devastating. All my friends have lost there homes and businesses. Its a really bad scene there with so many missing. People died trying to escape being overcomed by smoke. It came so fast allot of people had to abandon there cars and jump into the ocean. Its just so sad.

On 8/10/2023 at 12:17 PM, Matthew Kane said:

Yes this is devastating, bush fires aren't too common in Hawaii due to humidity but this one was a recipe for disaster due to the conditions at the time. Really sad to see the loss of these historical sites and loss of life

Not really true.  Since the end of sugar culture, all that land has gone fallow and is taken over by non-native grasses and shrubs like haole koa.   Without irrigation, that gets pretty dry in summer and we had a wet winter that promoted growth.  Brush fires are common especially in central Maui like around Puunene.  Trade wind weather like we had this week lowers humidity -- that's why people like Hawaii.  Trade winds typically are 10-15 kts but higher velocities aren't unusual and you get a funnel effect on the downslope (west) side valley / gulch areas.

 

BTW, if you drive past Hana you come to where Charles Lindbergh lived and his grave site.  You can keep driving all the way around back to Kihei but the road is pretty rough.  You can also drive around the north end of Maui, but past the resorts the road narrows to about 1-1/2 lanes and it pretty much drops straight off on the ocean side.  It's better as a bike ride -- about 70 miles to do the loop, and won't kill you like the Paia -- Haleakala 35 mile 10k climb.

 

I like Makawao / upcountry as very pleasant in summer.

 

scott s.

.

 

1 hour ago, scott967 said:

Not really true. 

I never said they don't, just not like this, this incident is more like you would expect in Australia or California because of the speed of it. I live on a Pacific Island too in the temperate zone so fires are very low risk in my immediate area, but we do have drier areas both north and south of where I live so we do get them too, just not like we are seeing currently either, this is a 1 in 100 year event 

Drudge now says over 1,500 still missing, but many of those will be found OK.  67 confirmed dead.