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On August 8th 2023, brush fires were sighted in Maui county in the state of Hawaii. The brush fires were nothing to be afraid of, and officials told residents the fire was contained. Yet only a few hours later, the fire spread even more, forcing residents to evacuate.
Wildfires are not necessarily uncommon in Hawaii, so it was thought this could easily be contained. However, these claims were proven wrong when the fire started to spread into more populated areas. It was soon clear that this wildfire was different from others, and was to be taken with more care.
It is unknown at this time what caused the wildfires, but it is speculated it is from high winds knocking down power lines, with dry weather. Lahaina, a coastal city in Maui with a population of 13,000 people was consumed by the fire. As of now, 99 people have perished in this tragedy. 2,848 acres of land have been destroyed, with an estimated 5.5 billion dollars of damage. Around 85% of the fire has been contained, and it seems like it is dying down. It will take time for the island of Maui to recover, but many rave volunteers and workers have been helping it recover.
