Words by Natasha Hemraze
We give you a rundown of the wildfires that have impacted Maui, and the aftermath that has ensued.
On Tuesday 8th August, the island of Maui broke out into one of the most horrific and deadliest wildfires the planet has ever seen. With 114 people dead and 1300 missing, the causes seem to be more than just dry climate and strong winds but are the consequences of the planet’s long-endured suffering of climate change and the island’s long colonial history.
On Monday 7th August, the people of Maui were warned of strong winds of up to 67 miles per hour. It has been noted that heavy wind gusts allowed for the spread of the wildfires. Just after midnight on Tuesday 8th August, bushfires were reported in the Kula area of Maui; and by 6am these bushfires broke out around Maui passing through the town of Lāhainā in West Maui. By late afternoon, the fire had been contained but the situation remains deadly as footage reveals people fleeing the fire by jumping into the ocean.
By Wednesday 9th August, Maui was consumed by the blaze without power or water. This island is still searching for those who went missing during the disaster. Thousands of native people have been displaced without food, shelter and clothes as 2,170 acres of their land is left annihilated.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which was also part of the recovery after Hurricane Katrina, has approved more than $5.6 million in assistance to almost 2,000 households. But it will take years for Maui’s land, economy and people to recover from what has been described as the “largest natural disaster”.
After the fire had ravaged Maui, people began to question the competency of their government. Herman Andaya, Head of Maui emergency has been criticized for not activating disaster sirens during the wildfire response. He has now resigned his post. It took more than 120 hours for President Joe Biden to publicly address the fires. On August 13th when asked by a journalist if he wished to say anything about the death toll and damage to the town of Lāhainā, he responded with a “no comment”. Many native Hawaiians and residents of Maui started to question their position as an American state and why they have been “put in the back pocket”.
One of the most harrowing details of the fire was Maui’s lack of water. Maui’s natural resources have been depleting over the years in order to develop mansions, luxury resorts and golf courses, leaving locals with little to no water for everyday use, especially for the maintenance of agriculture. These luxury resorts and golf courses have been “draining indigenous ecologies of their natural moisture”.
The climate emergency has only made it all much worse. With the lack of rainfall Maui and Hawaii have been suffering from drought, essentially meaning that “whoever controls the water controls the future of Maui”. It was because of this lack of water, Maui struggled to put out the treacherous fires that destroyed the historic town of Lāhainā.
The fire that ripped through Lāhainā was “emblemantle of a changing climate”, as their wetland haven transformed into a “vulnerable tinderbox”. It is no surprise that those who have been impacted the most are indigenous, black, brown and low income communities. What may have also exacerbated the fire is Hawaii’s long colonial history. As 20th century American sugar barons came and exploited the natural resources of Hawaii and Maui, they disrupted local water supplies and brought with them flammable grasses whilst profiteering from trade and exploitation.
Maui has become an ideal vacation destination, one that many wealthy people indulge in. However, tourism has been affecting local people horribly. Native communities have been begging for tourists to stop coming over in order to recover from years of damage expressing that “Kānaka Maoli, Native Hawaiians, should be central to rebuilding and recovery efforts”.
What is worse is that as Maui rebuilds itself, its people and its land will be subjected to disaster capitalism. Large developers and estate agents exploit the trauma and distress the people of Maui experience in order to gain rights to their ancestral land. Plantation disaster capitalism is something that native Hawaiians are unfortunately, no stranger to. Lately, there has been a rise in residents being scammed to sell their ancestral land.
It has been three weeks since “one of the deadliest wildfires in the 21st century”. The Mayor of Maui, Richard Bilsen remains unsure of how long it will take for the island to recover. We have seen what climate change and callous capitalists can do to our planet and if natural and lush ecological havens like Hawaii remain at constant threat, then there is no hope for the future of our planet.
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