The winds, strengthened by the hurricane, knocked out power lines and, moving downslope, contributed to the extreme spread of flames. The differences in air pressure drove unusually strong trade winds that fanned the destructive flames. The islands are sandwiched between high pressure to the north and a low pressure system associated with Dora, several hundred miles away, said Jeff Powell, a meteorologist in Honolulu. Hawaii was facing drought conditions and was in the midst of its dry season when Hurricane Dora, several hundred miles away, brought especially strong winds.
The cause of the fires has not been determined but they broke out as the island faced strong winds and low humidity that the National Weather Service had warned would bring high fire danger with the risk of rapid spread. “This was a classic wildland urban interface fire where there was a vegetation fire but it moved into an urban area and started burning structure to structure,” said the climate scientist Daniel Swain. The US Coast Guard on Tuesday rescued 14 people, including two children, who had jumped into the water to escape. Residents raced on to crowded roads, some of which were blocked with flaming debris. The conflagration swept into coastal Lahaina with alarming speed and ferocity, blazing through intersections and leaping across wooden buildings in a town center that dates to the 1700s and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The fires appear to have burned first in vegetation and then rapidly spread into populated areas as wind gusts of over 60mph rocked the island.
Read more How did the Maui fire disaster start?
0 kommentar(er)
