# Maui fires - discussion
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maui-fires-discussion/988432
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [August 11, 2023, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maui-fires-discussion/988432 "2023-08-11T23:59:09Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2023, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maui-fires-discussion/988432/1 "2023-08-11T23:59:09Z")
They still don’t know how it started.
I didn’t realize a tropical rainforest would burn this easily. Maui is listed in the 10 wettest places on earth.
The death toll is still rising as rescuers go into buildings. 😢
[https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/what-caused-the-maui-and-hawaii-fires-heres-what-we-know/ar-AA1facR7](https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/what-caused-the-maui-and-hawaii-fires-heres-what-we-know/ar-AA1facR7)
> **[Hawaiian Rainforests are some of the wettest places on Earth with the most...](https://roadtohana.com/hawaiian-rainforests.php)**
>
> The rainforests of the world comprise half of all species of animals and plants on Earth. Maui’s Pu’u Kukui (the highest peak in the West Maui Mountains) is 1 of the 10 wettest places on Earth.
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### Author:  [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2023, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maui-fires-discussion/988432/2 "2023-08-12T00:15:19Z")
All the Hawaiian islands, including Maui, have a wet side, where it rains almost constantly, and a dry side, where it hardly ever rains. Lahaina is on the dry side.
Here’s a rainfall map:
> **[Weather & Maui Average Rainfall Map | Maui Guidebook](https://mauiguidebook.com/basic-maui-info/average-rainfall-map-for-maui/)**
>
> Forget what you know about the weather. Like many things – Maui is different! Summary Our weather is controlled by the two massive mountains that make up our island. Without our mountains, annual rainfall would be about equal to that of Arizona! But...
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### Author:  [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2023, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maui-fires-discussion/988432/3 "2023-08-12T00:28:12Z")
Correct – and the high rainfall is entirely dependent on mountains. A flat island in the same location will tend towards dry and scrubby.
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### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2023, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maui-fires-discussion/988432/4 "2023-08-12T00:37:57Z")
Thank you for clearing that up.
I didn’t know there was that much weather difference on a island.
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### Author:  [@Tride](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tride)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2023, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maui-fires-discussion/988432/5 "2023-08-12T01:01:38Z")
Over on the Hana side you can literally drive from full rain forest to stinking desert in 10 miles. It’s that stark. The West Maui mountains loom above Lahaina and are one of the wettest places on earth, but Lahaina and Kihei are high desert.
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### Author:  [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2023, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maui-fires-discussion/988432/6 "2023-08-12T01:25:55Z")
> [@aceplace57](#):
>
> I didn’t know there was that much weather difference on a island.
Hawai’i Island has (according to [this site](https://www.lovebigisland.com/hawaii-blog/climate-zones-big-island/)) 8 different climate zones.
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### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2023, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maui-fires-discussion/988432/7 "2023-08-12T02:21:45Z")
If you get tired of the weather; drive a few miles 😉
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### Author:  [@sinjin1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin1)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2023, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maui-fires-discussion/988432/8 "2023-08-12T05:46:07Z")
Lahaina means cruel sun. Lahaina is the hottest and driest place on Maui. It was hot, and dry and had high winds. The winds were especially strong, almost all of that side of the island had no power because the power poles were swept away. It went up like a match.
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### Author:  [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2023, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maui-fires-discussion/988432/9 "2023-08-12T06:10:22Z")
Not only does Maui have both a rain forest and a desert, but its mountain peak sometimes gets snow. It’s about 11,000 feet.
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### Author:  [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2023, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maui-fires-discussion/988432/10 "2023-08-12T13:23:34Z")
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### Author:  [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2023, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maui-fires-discussion/988432/11 "2023-08-12T13:24:06Z")
As the question has been answered, further discussion probably belongs in the main thread.
> [@Wildfires on Maui \[2023-08-10\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wildfires-on-maui-2023-08-10/988362):
>
> My wife told me about this right before I fell asleep last night. Checking the news this morning, wow. The entire town of Lahaina is basically reduced to ashes. My wife was showing me a picture and saying “I remember walking down that street.” I said “Yeah, that’s where I bought my Hawaiian shirt” (which I’m wearing today).