Maui inferno

Wildfires in paradise will not convince millions of US citizens to recognise and act against climate change. Last week’s conflagration on Hawaii’s Maui island and the reduction to ash of 80 per cent of historic Lahaina will not budge US climate change deniers. Not even those who have suffered heat stroke elsewhere as temperatures soared, saw their homes engulfed in

flames, or were swamped by flood waters from catastrophic rainstorms. For decades multinationals benefitting from denial have courted publics in the US, the West, everywhere. Maui is the latest victim of denial and do—nothing politicians.

Hawaii Governor Josh Green said the fires were “likely the largest natural disaster in Hawaii state history.” At least 1,700 buildings were destroyed, 11,000 households lost power. The preliminary estimate for reconstruction stands at $5 billion. This is small change when compared to President Joe Biden’s $60 billion investment in the Ukraine war and request for another

$23 billion.

Hawaii was discovered between 124 to 1120 AD by Polynesian navigators who named the largest island Havaiki. Polynesian colonisation took place between 1219 and 1266 and earlier settlers about whom little is known were forced to take refuge in distant valleys. The four main islands, ruled by local chiefs, developed complex societies. British Captain James Cook arrived in 1778, initiating European contacts with the islanders and was killed during a clash with them. In 1819, missionaries landed in Hawaii. They converted the Hawaiians from their own religion to Christianity and westernised the population which was decimated by alien diseases.

Before the unification of the islands, Lahaina became the capital of the Hawaiian kingdom from 1820 to 1845 when the capital shifted to Honolulu. During that time Lahaina became a centre of the world—wide whaling industry. Many of the surviving historic buildings and the massive 150—year old banyan tree at the town centre drew two million tourists a year until the wildfire torched the town, killed scores, and rendered most of its 13,000 residents homeless.

Wildfires are common on the islands. The Hawaii Wildfire Management Organisation (HWMO) said some 0.5 per cent of the states’ territory is burnt annually, “equal to or greater than the proportion burned of any other US state.” This wildfire, the largest in the US for a century, was a warning to the world to dismiss the deniers and tackle climate change now. The world’s leaders must step up this effort at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28), which is set to convene in Dubai between Nov.30 and Dec.12. They should have Maui on their minds.

In Maui, the combination of grasslands sucked dry by drought and strong winds from hurricane Dora, 500 kilometres away from Hawaii, were catastrophic. HWMO’s Elizabeth Pickett told ABC television that the abandonment of irrigated sugar and pineapple plantations allowed wild grasses to take over. They flourish in the wet months but dry rapidly when the weather is hot and dry. “The landscape that has been invaded [by the grasses] is steep, rocky, and challenging to access. It’s a really hard landscape. You can’t just go with a lawn mower.” When on fire, these grasses burn forests and are replaced by more combustible grasses, she said.

From May to June, drought intensified from moderate to severe. By the time last week’s wildfires struck, 83 per cent of the island was experiencing some level of drought.

Dora was born in the eastern Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa and took the southern route across the Atlantic. It crossed into the Pacific at the end of the month and gained strength and by Aug.1 Dora became a tropical storm with winds rising to 63 kilometres per hour.

The combination of these conditions has been dubbed “red flag conditions” by the National Weather Service, stated Erica Fleishman, director of the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute at Oregon State University in an interview with ABC.

Climate change/global warming has intensified drought, dried the landscape, and increased the intensity and life of hurricanes, like Dora which broke records by travelling 10,500 kilometres, four times more than the average.

Long before climate change was recognised as a factor, island states and countries in the Americas, Europe, this region, and Africa were vulnerable to drought which dries vegetation, risking wildfires. In early 2022, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) warned, “Climate change and land—use change are projected to make wildfires more frequent and intense, with a global increase of extreme fires of up to 14 per cent by 2030, 30 per cent by the end of 2050 and 50 per cent by the end of the century.” UNEP pointed out that wildfires and climate change are “mutually exacerbating” and called on governments to invest in preventing and preparing for wildfires.

While COP28 has a wider climate change agenda, the Maui example makes it clear that wildfires must be tackled on the global front in developed and developing countries.

The COP 27 conference in Egypt last year took the decision to establish funding for a “loss and damage” facility to help developing economies which are suffering from the effects of climate change. A portion of this fund could focus on preventing wildfires by preparing for them.

Information has emerged that the Hawaiian authorities failed to adequately prepare to prevent the Maui fires. The authorities simply had no idea that such a devastating conflagration was possible in Maui although Hawaii has a fire season. The warning sirens in Lahaina did not sound the alarm as the wildfire stormed toward the town, forcing residents and tourists to flee for their lives. As many did not escape, the death toll is certain to rise.

Since the US is the world’s second largest polluter — after China — the Maui wildfires should force US climate change deniers and status quo businessmen and women to recognise that they cannot continue to strangle the shift to renewables. Instead, they need to invest in solar, wind, and water technologies and technologies to curb carbon emissions from fossil fuels. A recent opinion poll reveals that 67 per cent of US citizens give priority to developing wind and solar energy over 32 per cent who favour expanding oil and natural gas production. Young people, who are in the majority, have to push and prod politicians to adopt green agendas and weed out climate change deniers, including Donald Trump and his subordinates who, during his time in the White House, undermined the war against climate change for four years.

Photo:  Reuters