What you need to know about the Hawai'i fires right now.
This week has become a fire-fueled nightmare for residents of Maui as wildfires have ravaged the island, decimating the historic town of Lāhaina on Maui’s west side. Though brush fires are becoming more common on Maui, this week’s devastation can be attributed to extremely strong winds created by Hurricane Dora passing south of the Hawai‘i island chain. As of 10 a.m. PDT, 36 people have lost their lives and more than 270 structures in the Front Street area have been completely burned. Officials expect that number to rise as they continue to work their way through the area. Maui has not seen this level of loss of life since a tsunami struck in 1960.
The cause of the fires, which began late Tuesday night, is still under investigation, but will likely be attributed to accidental outbreaks due to human error, which is cited as the typical cause of Maui brush fires, exacerbated by dry conditions.
Fires also spread across nearby Hawai‘i Island (the Big Island), including bearing down on the resort areas surrounding Mauna Kea Resort and Westin Hapuna. Thankfully, as of Thursday morning Hawai‘i County Civil Defense Administrator, Talmadge Magno reports that the fires are contained and they are in “mop up” mode and are ready to send emergency personnel to assist in Maui. The Hawai‘i National Guard has also been activated, and firefighters are coming in from other areas of the country.
The Loss of Old Lāhaina Town
Most travelers who have visited Maui have fond memories of Lāhaina town. Lāhaina has a lot of rich history, previously serving as a port for whalers starting in the 1820s; it was also briefly the capital of Hawai‘i (1820-1845) after King Kamehameha united the islands, and was the place where Kamehameha located his palace. The historic town was home to venues that told the stories of these times and others including the Baldwin Home Museum, Hale Pa‘ahaho/Old Lāhaina Prison, and the Wo Hing Temple Museum. Also located in the city were the historic hotel, the Plantation Inn, celebrity-owned restaurants (Fleetwood’s owned by Mick Fleetwood), celebrity chef-owned restaurants (Papa’aina inside Pioneer Inn owned by Top Chef alum Lee Anne Wong), and countless other restaurants and businesses. Now it’s home to ashes and burned-out car frames.
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Reports currently suggest that the famous 150-year-old banyan tree in the square is still standing, though it’s unknown if the tree’s bark has been damaged. New reports coming in say that the dock at Lāhaina Small Boat Harbor is gone.
Even sadder than the loss of such a beautiful place is the loss of life and homes that came with the fire damage. People reported that they saw others jumping into the ocean to escape the flames and smoke, with some of them never making it back out of the water. Devastatingly, the death toll is expected to rise as teams canvas the area–many have yet to check in with their families.
The fire in Lāhaina spread very quickly, and it took a long time to get an idea of just how bad the damage and loss of life was on Wednesday due to cell phone lines being downed by the strong winds. 911 service was even spotty, with officials asking people to text for assistance, rather than calling.
Fires are still burning across Maui, with homes lost in the Upcountry area and many road closures.
What’s Currently Going on With Travelers in Hawai‘i?
Visitors haven’t gotten off easy, either, with thousands of them having to stay overnight in the Maui airport on Tuesday night. Many travelers reported sleeping in their rental cars parked along the highway or in the Target parking lot. Hotel guests had to leave their lodgings with just the clothes on their backs, and haven’t been able to return to retrieve their belongings and passports. Many visitors have begun lining up their cars along Honoapi‘ilani Highway in Ma‘alaea where the route to Lāhaina is closed off. They have nowhere to go and are not able to do much to improve their situation and are receiving very little communication, creating frustration for both residents and visitors.
On Wednesday, visitors had the opportunity to get into other hotels and move to other islands. The main providers of inter-island flights, Southwest and Hawaiian Airlines, offered $19 inter-island flights, as well as discounted flights back to the U.S. mainland, to help travelers leave Maui while Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke, who was serving as Acting Governor while Gov. Josh Green returned to the state from vacation, and other officials requested that all non-essential travel to Maui halt via an emergency proclamation.
“This proclamation is to discourage travel to the affected areas so we can prioritize our scarce resources for Maui residents who desperately need assistance,” Lieutenant Governor Luke said.
On Wednesday, the Hawai‘i Convention Center in Honolulu was opened to travelers to help them make adjustments to their trip and to provide shelter to 4,000 people, if needed. Shuttles will run regularly from the Daniel K. Inouye Airport on O‘ahu to transport people to the convention center.
Though some of the resort areas, including Wailea and Kapalua, have not been physically affected by the fires, there are many road closures making travel across the island difficult. A new fire seems to be blocking a road in Kapalua according to local reports, indicating that these fires can pop up at any time in a variety of areas. Several restaurants in Wailea closed on Wednesday so that staff could tend to their own personal needs during this terrible time.
Now is not the time to enjoy a Maui vacation, and visitors are encouraged to leave the island in order to reserve much-needed resources and access to residents.
A lot of travelers are doing quick pivots to save their trips and heading to other islands, adjusting their itineraries to include activities, dining, at shopping in areas that they hadn’t planned for. Fodor’s can offer a variety of information, both online and in our guidebooks, to assist travelers with this pivot.
Hotel Inventory May Open for Residents
As travelers move off of Maui, plans are for displaced residents to move into some of the vacated hotel rooms.
“We already were struggling with a severe shortage of housing and shelter for people; this will only make it worse. I’ve been in touch with some hotels already. As we empty out some of the travelers to other islands or back to the mainland we will be pursuing spaces in hotels that the state can support. I’ve asked my team to put together a plan to support some of that cost for individuals who are going to be dislocated for a long period of time,” Gov. Green told KHON2 reporters on the Thursday morning broadcast.
Green is also asking for those with short-term vacation rentals, second homes, and alternate dwelling units around the state to, if possible, make units available for someone to stay for a few months.
What Travelers Should Know if They Have an Upcoming Trip
What to do if you have an upcoming trip to Maui isn’t quite clear at this time. Residents are erring on the side of caution and asking folks to consider canceling their trips in the near future due to damages to medical facilities, a need for first responders to concentrate on the fires and their victims, as well as a general need to conserve resources. But honestly, how can anyone enjoy lounging on a beach while surrounding communities are burning to the ground?
People with reservations in September and October are considering canceling their trips or moving to other islands, but many with short-term vacation rental reservations are finding it difficult to receive any communication regarding cancellations, much less receiving refunds. Visitors are encouraged to keep trying to cancel reservations and to keep a log of all attempts at communication. If it’s not too late you may also be able to call your credit card company to dispute the charges. Keep a copy of the governor’s proclamation handy.
How You Can Help Those Affected by the Maui Fires
There have been huge outpourings of assistance and care for those affected by the fires. A few well-known and trusted organizations have been fundraising in order to help. We highly suggest that if you’ve benefited from Maui in some way in your lifetime that you consider making a donation in this extreme time of need. As always, be sure to do your due diligence to avoid scammers before making any donations, especially if they are hosted by individuals and not trusted organizations.
Hawai‘i Community Foundation’s Maui Strong Fund
Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement Kāko‘o Maui Fund
Maui Food Bank
Maui Humane Society
Be sure to keep Maui in your hearts and help where you can.
So, why does the newtwork news, ABC send people there when resources are scarce, people are sleeping on the floor and in cars. I am sure they fly into Maui on private aircraft, and stay at the best hotels in Honolulu. What a waste of resources. Donate the money to Maui relief or the Red Cross!!!
So, tell me why the network news needs to spend hundreds of thousands to cover the Maui fire, when local news is better equipped. Why not donate the money to rebuilding Maui?? This is a real waste of valuable resources, food, water, hotel rooms, and flights.