Maui Wildfire Podcast

The transcription discusses the wildfires in Maui, emphasizing the destruction caused to homes, lives, and the environment. The fires started as a small bushfire but quickly grew into one of the biggest fires in Hawaii. Various organizations are helping to address the issue, but wildfires are difficult to contain due to their rapid spread and dangerous work environments. The fires have resulted in the loss of lives, homes, and local businesses, as well as damage to coral reefs and marine life. The environmental cleanup is still in progress, and the estimated cost of the damage is between $4-6 billion. It is important to save the environment to protect families, prevent further damage to the ecosystem, and minimize financial and mental harm. Early containment and warning systems are suggested solutions. The Lahaina locals have been most impacted, with thousands of homes destroyed and lives lost. The fires have also raised social justice concerns, as people feel abandoned and displaced f Maui is known as one of the most beautiful tropical paradises in the world. However, behind the mask of this island reveals the raging wildfires that have destroyed thousands of homes and killed over 100 people. Join us as we discover the dark truth about these fires. Today we will be covering wildfires in Maui, the effect it had on the environment and people, and what can we do to rebuild and more. We will be comparing statistics and going over significant details on this natural disaster and the history behind it. What is the history of your environmental issue? Well, the wildfires in Maui started on August 4th, 2023. Now, see it started as a 30-acre bushfire that only delayed a few flights, and after a few hours was deemed 90% contained and was not seen as a big threat. However, the people that were dealing with this bushfire had no idea that it would become one of the biggest fires in Hawaii. Who are the major human organizations and groups? Well, Maui Collective Contributor, the VA Clinic Pacific Island System, Tulsi Gavard's Helping Hands and Healing Mounds are all just a few of many groups and organizations that are helping and doing whatever they can to fix this huge issue that's spreading all over Maui. Why are there environmental challenges in solving these environmental issues? Well, see, fires are an extremely difficult environmental issue to solve because they spread so easily, and they spread really quickly, so you need to be cleaning it up faster than the fire can spread. Another issue is the extremely dangerous work environments that fires create, because if you're not wearing the right gear or having the right precautions, it can lead to many injuries and deaths. And fires can be extremely difficult to contain and can also cause a lot of smoke issues and can cause a lot of bad things for the people trying to fix it. Can you describe the fire? Okay, well, so the straight net of injury total is the fires that so far killed 115 people and have burned over 2,000 homes. Now, while that may just seem like a number, imagine every one of those 2,000 homes as a family that needs to be relocated and has to get a completely new life. And not to mention, it also has destroyed hundreds of buildings that have been home to local businesses and is costing tens of millions of dollars in revenue. Another thing that the fires affect are the coral reefs, which support huge amounts of marine life and support local traditions such as fishing. What is the status of the environmental cleanup? Well, so far we are in phase one, which is cleaning up all of the waste. And so far we have cleaned up 75% of all the waste. But to get to phase two, we need to be completely done with phase one, when phase two is to clean up all of the debris. And then after that, once we contain all the fire, then we will successfully solve the issue. We are still in phase one. How much is the environmental cost? So we can estimate that it will cost anywhere between 4-6 billion dollars, which will definitely take a huge toll, huge tax on the Hawaii local government. So why should we save this environment? Well, similar to what I said before, there are thousands of families that need to evacuate and relocate, which can be really terrible. If you've ever had to move, imagine having your house completely destroyed and having to buy a new one, and how much financial and mental damage that would cost. Another thing is the environmental damages. Destroying coral reefs can be really bad for the local, for the native people and the marine life. What else do we need to consider? Well, the sooner that we fix this issue, the better, because of the way that fire spread and we need to be contaminating it faster, or we need to be containing it faster than the fire can spread. And another thing we can do is install warning devices so that the people don't get caught off guard. So you might be asking, who endured most of the impacts from these wildfires? And resources have shown that Lahaina locals endured most of the impacts. Nearly 2,000 Lahaina houses and households were destroyed during the wildfires, and according to NPR, DNA tests prove 97 people were killed, bringing the death toll down from what was initially 115. Coral reefs around the island were massively affected by the fires. Coral reefs were recovering from a heat wave when a wildfire struck, hurting the ecosystems and leaving the reefs torn up and full of debris. The way that the Lahaina fires relate to social justice is by all people feeling like they are possibly being abandoned because so many people had to evacuate so fast out of their homes and that family members would risk getting hurt. Another way the Lahaina fires relate to social justice is by, again, people feeling like they are being driven away from possibly everything that makes their home a home, so they will always be stressed out and unsure of what to do in a specific situation. The wildfires have not only affected humans, but also have affected the world around them. In conclusion, the Hawaii fires started on August 4, 2023. The reason why the Lahaina fires are so important is because we need to think about all the people who are losing everything that they had and thinking back to the fact that they are never going to be able to go back to their home and live the life that they had before the fire happened. Today we talked about the fact that more than 2,000 structures were burned down and that the rebuilding of the city of Lahaina is going to cost approximately $4 to $6 million to rebuild the city. So far, Lahaina is coming together to create something called a metal stabilizer to gather up all the debris that was left just so people don't get hurt. Alright, thanks for listening. Hope you enjoyed learning about the Lahaina fires and how it is hurting our Hawaiian population.