Maui fires.

Michigan Tree Murderer

Michigan Tree Murderer

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Saw in the news today that Lahaina Hawaii was ravaged by wildfires & other areas. I hope all the Maui B-nuts are okay. :) I also hope the US largest Banyan tree is okay. The tree is 0.66 acres and has 16 trunks major trunks apart from the main trunk & was planted on April 24, 1873.

US largest banyan.jpgBanyan with lights.jpg
 
I have walked through there a couple of times and the tree is just amazing. I remember sitting under there listening to hundreds of sparrows chirping. I really hope the tree isn't permanently damaged. Maui is one of my favorite places on Earth and it sucks to see it like this!
 
That tree has been the source of so much unfounded speculation. People are LITERALLY crying because they THINK it must be dead.

It'll be fine!
 
Wulfskaar said:
I have walked through there a couple of times and the tree is just amazing. I remember sitting under there listening to hundreds of sparrows chirping. I really hope the tree isn't permanently damaged. Maui is one of my favorite places on Earth and it sucks to see it like this!
Click to expand...
Super cool tree that was one of the reasons I started Bonsai. And I'm currently, trying my own banyan style tree with dwarf schefflera's. From what I saw when we visited, Lahaina was a huge part of Maui lots of homes and businesses. I did some more digging and saw this.

1691625321233.png+
 
From what I just saw on the news, the fires aren't just on Maui but on other islands as well. The destruction is horrific. They are discouraging all travel to Hawaii for safety reasons.
 
Carol 83 said:
From what I just saw on the news, the fires aren't just on Maui but on other islands as well. The destruction is horrific. They are discouraging all travel to Hawaii for safety reasons.
Click to expand...
Yes, it's heartbreaking. Another reason I'm not worried about a tree, as much as I love them and that one in particular.
 

(9:15 a.m. ET) Lahaina’s Banyan Tree Decimated By Blaze​

Lahaina Town’s historic banyan tree was planted in 1873 and grew to over 60 feet tall.

The tree spanned an entire block on Front Street, which has since sustained extensive damage from wildfires.

:( Hopefully some of it survives.
 
The tree might survive but it will not be the same. Of greater concern to me is the changes in weather patterns over the past couple of decades that have caused drought in what was once a lush tropical paradise. When I was younger, I mean like 50 years ago, I knew people who lived in Maui and had commerce there due to the interest in keeping marine aquariums. Also knew some pretty famous potters. They used to joke that it rained every day at 2:00 in the afternoon. I have been out of touch with the changes there over the past several years, so it was shocking to me when I heard of these fires.
I'll not get into laying blame here. Either you know the source of the problem, you don't know, or you refuse to know. Older people frequently complain about young people today, yet look at the world we are leaving to them. So sad. So shaming. I'm done here.
 
Hawaii has already had
penumbra said:
The tree might survive but it will not be the same. Of greater concern to me is the changes in weather patterns over the past couple of decades that have caused drought in what was once a lush tropical paradise. When I was younger, I mean like 50 years ago, I knew people who lived in Maui and had commerce there due to the interest in keeping marine aquariums. Also knew some pretty famous potters. They used to joke that it rained every day at 2:00 in the afternoon. I have been out of touch with the changes there over the past several years, so it was shocking to me when I heard of these fires.
I'll not get into laying blame here. Either you know the source of the problem, you don't know, or you refuse to know. Older people frequently complain about young people today, yet look at the world we are leaving to them. So sad. So shaming. I'm done here.
Click to expand...
I moved away from California because of the annual wild fire smoke. Not healthy, in addition to being inconvenient and dangerous.

Then this year there were several days or weeks where the East Coast and Chicago simultaneously were enveloped in unhealthy levels of wild fire smoke.

And now Hawaii??

The persistent ashes in the sky no matter where you go aren't a red flag to anyone?
 
After being in Lahaina for Halloween, I fell in love with that town. It was such a beautiful little town full of nice people. I can't believe it's burned down. I'm used to seeing that kind of devastation here in CA, but Maui?!?

I would guess the tree will recover, even if it takes 100 years. It's root system has to be massive and strong. I'm sure Lahaina will be rebuilt as well, but it won't have the same old-timey charm. 😪

Mikecheck123 said:
The persistent ashes in the sky no matter where you go aren't a red flag to anyone?
Click to expand...

Yes. A few months ago, we had booked a trip to Portland to look at houses on the Washington side. We had to cancel at the last minute because the houses we wanted to look at were literally in the evacuation zone.

Two days ago, we were trying to decide if we wanted to go to Maui again, and now this!
 
Mikecheck123 said:
Hawaii has already had

I moved away from California because of the annual wild fire smoke. Not healthy, in addition to being inconvenient and dangerous.

Then this year there were several days or weeks where the East Coast and Chicago simultaneously were enveloped in unhealthy levels of wild fire smoke.

And now Hawaii??

The persistent ashes in the sky no matter where you go aren't a red flag to anyone?
Click to expand...
They are intentional, no doubt.
 
The biggest issue with this burn is a weird confluence of a hurricane and dry weather at the worst possible time. The fires were fanned by 60 mph+ wind from a passing hurricane, which are not uncommon to Hawaii. Combined with what appears to be a rather common drought on the islands, the two things drove a huge event. It's a confluence of things, not a single thing, but, of course, climate change has a lot to do with it. Timing of the storm and fire just has more to do with it, IMO.

"Drought is a natural, frequent occurrence in Hawai'i with impacts on all islands. Droughts are often associated with El Niño events, which are part of a natural climate cycle in the Pacific Ocean. As isolated islands in the Pacific, Hawai'i has limited water resources, making the islands highly sensitive to reductions in water availability."

www.drought.gov

Hawaii

Current state-level drought information for Hawaii: .
www.drought.gov www.drought.gov
 
rockm said:
The biggest issue with this burn is a weird confluence of a hurricane and dry weather at the worst possible time. The fires were fanned by 60 mph+ wind from a passing hurricane, which are not uncommon to Hawaii. Combined with what appears to be a rather common drought on the islands, the two things drove a huge event. It's a confluence of things, not a single thing, but, of course, climate change has a lot to do with it. Timing of the storm and fire just has more to do with it, IMO.

"Drought is a natural, frequent occurrence in Hawai'i with impacts on all islands. Droughts are often associated with El Niño events, which are part of a natural climate cycle in the Pacific Ocean. As isolated islands in the Pacific, Hawai'i has limited water resources, making the islands highly sensitive to reductions in water availability."

www.drought.gov

Hawaii

Current state-level drought information for Hawaii: .
www.drought.gov www.drought.gov
Click to expand...

Also, one side of the island is normally much dryer than the other. The south/west sides of the mountains are very dry with some of it almost looking like California, while the other side is very wet and tropical. The trade winds come from the NE and dump a lot more water on that side.
 
Wulfskaar said:
After being in Lahaina for Halloween, I fell in love with that town. It was such a beautiful little town full of nice people. I can't believe it's burned down. I'm used to seeing that kind of devastation here in CA, but Maui?!?

I would guess the tree will recover, even if it takes 100 years. It's root system has to be massive and strong. I'm sure Lahaina will be rebuilt as well, but it won't have the same old-timey charm. 😪



Yes. A few months ago, we had booked a trip to Portland to look at houses on the Washington side. We had to cancel at the last minute because the houses we wanted to look at were literally in the evacuation zone.

Two days ago, we were trying to decide if we wanted to go to Maui again, and now this!
Click to expand...
You will be surprised. I've seen recovery from forest fires multiple times. My guess is 10 years from now, it will look alright.
 
Wow, 53 dead. just devastating. if you haven't seen shots of the carnage, it's really hard to describe the level of destruction. Anyone sensitive to human misery should probably avoid doing so.

The banyan is burnt to a crisp, but I find that of little concern with the level of death and destruction to the homes and livelihoods of the residents.

I'm optimistic that we can turn this ship around, but devastating natural disasters are becoming the norm, even in places unaccustomed to them, and that terrifies me.
 
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