Paradise on Fire: 2023 Maui-Lahaina Wildfire Case Study

Abstract

On August 8, 2023, a devastating wildfire occurred in the county of Maui in Hawaii. This research analyzes: 1) the cause of the wildfire; 2) the emergency services effectiveness in Lahaina; and 3) the financial cost of the wildfire. Different sources such as official statements, news articles, and scholarly articles were used to gather information and ArcGIS was the primary tool for analysis and visualization. The prevailing theory for the cause of the wildfire is that a combination of downed power lines, drought, and hurricane winds may have sparked and spread the wildfire. Visual analysis using imagery and land use for Maui, coupled with reports of extended droughts throughout the islands, strongly suggest that although the downed power lines theory is yet to be confirmed, any small source of fire could have started the wildfire. A network analysis was conducted to verify the effectiveness of emergency services in the vicinity of Lahaina. Per the analysis, the emergency services are sufficient on a small-scale incident, however a huge disaster requires more than the one fire station near Lahaina. Remaining fire stations around Maui would be hard-pressed to reach the small town on time. Using the parcel data from Hawaii Statewide GIS program and calculating the damage within the fire boundary of Lahaina, approximately 2,363 properties, including land and buildings were burned which cost approximately 2.86 billion dollars and 973 homes were destroyed costing around 812 million dollars.