Satellite Images Reveal Stark Contrast of Maui’s Destruction Due to Wildfires

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The historic community of Lahaina in Maui has been ravaged by wildfires, and the devastation is vividly depicted through before-and-after satellite images, illustrating the clear and severe contrast.

Before the fire that occurred this week, images show streets lined and enclosed with lush green vegetation. However, the pictures taken after the fire depict a grim, desolate landscape, sometimes marred with billowing clouds of smoke emerging from the debris.

Maxar Technologies supplied a set of satellite images that provides an overview of Lahaina Square on Maui, Hawaii, from June 25, 2023, on one side, and an overview of the identical area on Wednesday, Aug. 9, after a wildfire had ravaged the core of the Hawaiian island. (Image credit: Maxar Technologies via AP)

A comparison of images demonstrates the once verdant area around a massive banyan tree in the heart of the coastal community transformed into a bleak terrain of gray and black, with the tree’s branches charred.

Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen Jr., who grew up in Maui and was well acquainted with Lahaina as his mother worked at a local restaurant there for 17 years, said the current state of the place is unrecognizable.

He described the scene to ABC’s “Good Morning America,” saying, “It’s akin to a war zone, or perhaps the aftermath of a bomb explosion. Cars were left in the streets with doors ajar, melted to the ground. Most structures have been obliterated. The devastation stretches for blocks and blocks.”

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Mayor Bissen recalled memories of Lahaina, saying, “It bears no resemblance to what it looked like when I was a child.”

The wildfires in Maui have tragically resulted in the loss of at least 55 lives.

Additional sets of satellite images provided by Maxar Technologies offer a broader perspective of the impact in various areas of Lahaina on Maui, Hawaii, including views of southern Lahaina and Banyan Court, all contrasting the region before the fire on June 25, 2023, and after the blaze on Wednesday, Aug. 9. These images present a poignant testament to a disaster that tore through the essence of the Hawaiian island. (Image credit: Maxar Technologies via AP)

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More about fokus keyword: wildfires

• Maxar Technologies Website
• Good Morning America on ABC
• Maui County Official Website
• Hawaii State Government Website
• U.S. National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) Website