Old Lahaina Town Utterly Destroyed - Recovery & Relief Efforts

[terracore]

pseudo-censorship comment. 

I’ve seen a number of videos on YouTube taken by residents of Lahaina as they evacuated.  One was so disturbing I couldn’t sleep well that night.  I think it’s difficult to put ourselves in the rubber slippers of survivors, or people who may have friends or relatives still missing, and what might upset them.  Sure, you can say a person posting can put up a warning, but any detailed warning might be as bad as seeing an image.

That's kind of the point I was getting at.  Telling people about some video they saw and suggesting they "google it themselves" could lead them to finding a completely different video.  Maybe one that's more disturbing than what the original post was referring to or full of misinformation .

I understand not wanting to post a link "out of respect" but sending people down a rabbit hole is often a tactic used by people in the misinformation business. I can give you four words to google and I guarantee you wouldn't finish watching the video.

[HiloJulie]

That's kind of the point I was getting at.  Telling people about some video they saw and suggesting they "google it themselves" could lead them to finding a completely different video.  Maybe one that's more disturbing than what the original post was referring to or full of misinformation .

I understand not wanting to post a link "out of respect" but sending people down a rabbit hole is often a tactic used by people in the misinformation business.

That has to be the most absurd statement one could make. 

I on several occasions posted the gist of a news story that also contained other details some may not want to see or read. 

And solely out of respect. 

That simple. Nothing more. Nothing less. 

I have never posted anything remotely close to anything that could be considered misinformation, which, ironically is clearly stated in PunaWeb’s TOS. 

I clearly explained the information as well as briefly mentioned the other items in the news story that in addition to being respectful, has no real need to be discussed.

[Rob Tucker]

Julie you are leaning into this kind of hard. This topic is becoming about you. Stop please.

[terracore]

"I have never posted anything remotely close to anything that could be considered misinformation, which, ironically is clearly stated in PunaWeb’s TOS.

I clearly explained the information as well as briefly mentioned the other items in the news story that in addition to being respectful, has no real need to be discussed."

It wasn't my intent to communicate that I thought you were trying to spread misinformation (I don't think that, and I wasn't replying to one of your posts anyway). The point was that by posting statements and telling people to google it themselves, they may find themselves reading the same "disrespectful" content you were trying to spare people from.

[Rob Tucker]

terracore , You stop too please,

[terracore]

terracore ,  You stop too please,

Understood.

[AaronM]

The rate at which this disaster unfolded is similar to a plane crash.  You can't really have sirens for such an event.  There are also first hand accounts of people wandering around gawking in the critical minutes before the flames hit the town  What is needed is a complete revamping both of infrastructure and peoples' attitudes.  Nobody recognized that this could even happen.

Wow. First off, most plane crashes have time to radio for mayday at least.  Second, everyone who has lived in Hawaii for even a short time is aware that brushfires can and do happen.  Costco gets threatened every few years for example.

Agreed that infrastructure improvements are needed, but I'm not holding my breath.

[randomq]

2018 Maui Wildfires driven by hurricane winds:
https://www.mauinews.com/news/local-news...ear-later/

2019 Maui Wildfires, hot dry weather and fallow fields:
https://www.mauinews.com/news/local-news...r-of-fire/

I guess somebody should have recognized that this could happen. But could anything have been done?

[dobanion]

I think it comes down to invasive grass control. Is it feasible? Can we really hope to eradicate the flammable grasses? Having battled guinea grass on my property, I don't see how to do it without a ridiculous amount of herbicide.

Firebreaks of boulders, controlled burns?

We can be certain of a few things. The grass will grow, and it will dry out. And windstorms like what happened at Lahaina will happen.

I'll add I think it's unfair to single out the power company and put all the blame on them for Lahaina, as the lawsuit is suggesting. One of the lessons of the fires in the western USA is that given the "right" conditions a source of ignition is just a matter of time.

[ironyak]

But could anything have been done?

State/County mandated fire breaks (fuel breaks) along the wild/urban interface, accomplished through grazing given the rapid plant growth, or "greenstrips" of living vegetation? Better training and tools for firefighters focused on wildfires and not just structural fires? Native ecosystem restoration? This and more is all discussed in The Contemporary Scale and Context of Wildfire in Hawai'i (2016) by Clay Trauernicht (et al.) who was quoted earlier in the thread.

Undergrounding power lines (1999)? Improved irrigation systems and water management (2022)?

Lots of things that could have been done, but weren't. The reason why is obvious from even a cursory read.