Devastating effects of Hawaiian wildfire unimaginable – Residents lament

There has been series of wildfire across the globe leading to great loss of lives and properties and destruction of the ecosystem.

In an expert opinion by Oluyoye Idowu, a multidimensional Environmental Research Scientist with expertise spanning forest management , climate change mitigation and environmental risk assessment and published by ValidViewNetwork recently, the expert had aserted that ” the effects of bushfires on environmental sustainability can have consequential effects on the economic and social wellbeing of people, industries and and nations”.

The recent Wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui which has reportedly killed an estimated 53 people and forcing thousands to flee their homes has created pains, sorrows arising from monumental losses

The blazes, which continued to rage on Thursday, appear to have devastated the historic centre of Lahaina, the onetime capital of the former Kingdom of Hawaii.

While damage was still being assessed, witnesses said several significant sites appeared to have been consumed by the flames.

Richard Olsten, a helicopter pilot with tour operator Air Maui, told The Associated Press news agency he had flown over the area to take stock.

“All the places that are tourist areas, that are Hawaiian history, are gone, and that can’t be replaced,” he said. “You can’t refurbish a building that’s just ashes now. It can’t be rebuilt — it’s gone forever.”

Aerial footage of Lahaina showed the town nearly engulfed in flames. Videos on social media captured smouldering remains downtown, with cars and storefronts melted.

Speaking to The New York Times, Theo Morrison, the executive director of the Lahaina Restoration Foundation, which manages several of the historic sites, said the speed of the encroaching fire made it nearly impossible to take any protective action.

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“We had no preparation, no warning, nothing,” Morrison said. She noted that the roof of the Old Lahaina Courthouse, which held a heritage museum with ancient Hawaiian artefacts, appears to have collapsed.

Local media also reported that the Baldwin Home, built in 1834 by Reverend Ephraim Spaulding, has been destroyed. The home was the oldest still standing in Lahaina.

Photos on social media appeared to show the famous Lahaina Banyan Tree, believed to be the largest in the United States, also severely singed.

Longtime residents lamented the loss. The fire is “just going to change everything”, Lee Imada, who worked at the Maui News for 39 years, told The Associated Press.

“It’s just hard to register, even right now, what the full impact of this is going to be.”