Satellite picture of Maui fire at 10:25 p.m. regional time on August 8, 2023, as observed by the Operational Land Imager on Landsat 8.
A wildfire devastated Lahaina, Maui, assisted by strong winds and dry weather condition. Numerous structures were damaged, with continuous search and rescue operations. NASAs Earth Applied Sciences Disasters program is supplying assistance.
A fast-moving wildfire has devastated the historic town of Lahaina on Maui, Hawaiis second-largest island.
Image Composition and Analysis
The image above reveals the signature of the fire at 10:25 p.m. local time on August 8, 2023, as observed by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on the Landsat 8 satellite. Much of Lahaina, a town with a resident population of almost 13,000 people, appeared to be on fire at the time of the image. Another big fire burned northwest of Kihei.
The image was made up from OLI observations of shortwave infrared light (band 6). Infrared observations are useful for distinguishing the locations of active fires, shown here in yellow. The shortwave infrared data were overlaid on a natural-color mosaic image based upon Landsat 8 observations for added geographic information.
Weather Contributing to the Fires
The fires took place throughout a duration of strong winds and dry conditions in Maui. An analysis by the U.S. Drought Monitor shows that the southwestern part of the island was in the middle of moderate to severe drought at the time of the fires.
Damage Reports and Rescue Operations
Maui County has reported damage to numerous structures, with prevalent damage in the Lahaina harbor area. On August 9, authorities were continuing to conduct search and rescue operations.
NASAs Support for the Incident
NASAs Earth Applied Sciences Disasters program area has been activated in assistance of the fires in Hawaii. As brand-new information appears, the group will be posting maps and data products on its open-access mapping website.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, utilizing Landsat information from the U.S. Geological Survey.
The image above shows the signature of the fire at 10:25 p.m. regional time on August 8, 2023, as observed by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on the Landsat 8 satellite. Much of Lahaina, a town with a resident population of nearly 13,000 individuals, appeared to be on fire at the time of the image. The fires happened during a duration of strong winds and dry conditions in Maui. An analysis by the U.S. Drought Monitor reveals that the southwestern part of the island was in the middle of moderate to serious drought at the time of the fires.