Hawaii is battling wind-swept wildfires

Fires tearing through Maui and Hawaii’s Big Island this week have killed at least six people, stranded thousands, and reduced much of a historic town to ash.

The Maui town of Lāhainā—a tourist destination and nationally recognized historical landmark—has been largely destroyed. Hundreds of families were displaced, and the US Coast Guard rescued at least 12 people who jumped into the ocean to escape the fire.

Meanwhile, Maui hospitals were inundated with injuries but not equipped for “extensive burn treatment,” according to Hawaii’s lieutenant governor, so some people have been airlifted to Oahu.

Sixty-mile-per-hour gusts, partially due to a passing Category 4 hurricane, fanned the blazes, blocked roads, and grounded firefighting helicopters. Downed cell towers also left authorities reliant on satellite phones to communicate with people in scorched areas.

Hawaii is forecast to be at an above-average risk of wildfires through November, but fires were rare in the region before humans arrived—making them especially damaging when they do hit.

Zoom out: Extreme weather events in 2023 have already cost insurers $50 billion. This is the biggest billion-dollar natural disaster year since at least 1980, when the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration started tracking such events.