Lessons from the blaze that levelled Lahaina
WHEN KING Kamehameha I united the Hawaiian islands in the early 1800s, he made Lahaina the capital of his new kingdom. The seaside city on western Maui was his crown jewel. Missionaries and whalers flocked to its shores. Kings and queens were buried in the graveyard of Waiola church. Later, it became a tourist destination. Surf shops, bars and museums lined its streets; 13,000 people called Lahaina home. Now an ashen moonscape lies between the mountains and the sea where it once stood.
The wildfire that swept through town on August 8th was indiscriminate. Scores of birds lie dead on the ground throughout the burn zone, felled by flames or the toxins they released. White picket fences melted. For many homes, the only thing left is the scorched husk of a washing machine sitting amid rubble where a laundry room once stood. Skeletons of cars sit where they were overtaken by the inferno. Some drivers abandoned their vehicles, climbed over the seawall and threw themselves into the Pacific to escape the flames.
As of August 16th the fire had killed at least 111 people, making it the deadliest blaze America has seen in more than a century. The death toll is certain to climb. Rescue crews and dozens of cadaver dogs are still searching the burned area. More than 1,000 people are missing.
2023-08-17 05:10:51
Source from www.economist.com
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