By Taylor Porter ~ Assistant Editor
Photo retrieved from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-did-maui-fire-start-cause-lahaina-hawaii-wildfire/.
Thousands evacuated the island of Maui this past August to escape the blazing wildfires that took the town of Lahaina.
Although it was determined last week that the fires were caused by downed power lines, the fires in Lahaina still devastated the town, and Hawai’i has been facing environmental ruin for some time.
As mentioned earlier, the town of Lahaina, a historical town in Maui, was burned to the ground; but what about the flora and fauna?
Dr. Laura Henry-Stone, the director of sustainability at the University of Lynchburg said, “Some of the biggest problems in Hawaii are invasive species that have come from other places and decimate native…populations; in terms of its biodiversity… what often happens in a disturbance like this is that the invasive species will actually do a better job sort of repopulating.”
Photo retrieved from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-did-maui-fire-start-cause-lahaina-hawaii-wildfire/.
Some students believe that the university has a role to play in this disaster.
Sonia Moore, senior, said, “The school could probably organize fundraisers or a bake sale or the like to help the residents that have lost everything.”
Moore also has personal insight in this and said “I was born in Hawai’i…and I would like nothing more than to see it healthy once again. Hawai’i is first and foremost for Hawaiians.”
If you would like to help the people of Hawai’i, you can go to https://www.hawaiicommunityfoundation.org/maui-strong to make a donation.
Sources:
Sonia Moore, Senior
Interviews for Hawaii Wildfires
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/28/business/hawaiian-electric-power-lines-fire/index.html
Czachor, Emily Mae. “How did the Maui fire start? What we know about the cause of the Lahaina blaze.” CBS News, 28 August 2023, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-did-maui-fire-start-cause-lahaina-hawaii-wildfire/. Accessed 3 September 2023.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-did-maui-fire-start-cause-lahaina-hawaii-wildfire/
Photos were from the article
