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Maui wildfires continue, fueled by wind
Jordan Bowen reports.
TAMPA, Fla. - Wind-fueled wildfires continued to tear through parts of Maui, Hawaii Wednesday night.
So far, the flames have claimed six lives, destroyed buildings, engulfed homes and cell towers causing outages and rendering 911 unavailable in some parts.
Captain Parker Wilbourn works for a fire department in California where every year they see the most wildfires out of any other state in the country. He says once these fires get going they can potentially create their own weather patterns and when you add in high winds it can make it nearly impossible to contain.
He's dealt with these wildfires first-hand and says in these situations there are three main factors that contribute to wildfires.
"That is the types of fuels, heat source and oxygen, and we call it the fire triangle and those are the necessary ingredients for combustion. The fuel has a big part to play the amount of fuel, the amount of dry fuel, the continuity of those fuels and moisture," Captain Parker Wilbourn, a public information officer with Sacramento Metro Fire said.
Three main factors contribute to wildfires.
In West Maui, more than 12,400 customers remain without power. According to the Maui Mayors office, more than 2,100 people have been housed in shelters since Tuesday night. There’s still so much uncertainty as to where and how fast the fires could spread which is why Wilbourn says in times like these it’s so important people heed the evacuation warnings.
"Get out of harm's way, do it early. You don't want to be in a position where you are frantically trying to get out. That is not where you want to be. Have a to-go bag ready to go. Have an escape plan, ready to go," Wilbourn said.
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One of the most unpredictable factors of wildfires is wind because of how it carries away moisture-laden air and hastens the drying of forest fuels. It can also contribute to spread by carrying embers and burning debris over long distances.
Officials urge residents to be prepared for evacuations.
"With these large wildfires, there's no way to prevent the spread. You just do what you can to get ahead of it, call for additional resources. And it really comes down to a solid incident management team that can come in there and put the resources where they need to go," Wilbourn said.
Wilbourn says one of the biggest challenges with wildfires are the weeks and months after the fire is extinguished because many times the entire infrastructure like water, sewer and gas lines are destroyed making it a challenge to repopulate those areas devastated by the fire.