HONOLULU — One year after fast-moving wildfires destroyed the town of Lahaina, Maui, there are visible signs of progress to rebuild.
Lots have been mostly cleared of debris. The water and wastewater systems have been rebuilt. Permits for residents to start rebuilding have been approved. Even its iconic, 151-year-old Banyan tree seems to have survived.
Why it matters: But the wildfires that killed more than 100 people on Aug. 8, 2023, exacerbated a housing crisis and have forced local residents and leaders to confront bigger questions about how to rebuild on Maui.
A massive wildfire in northern California is a symptom of the American West's suffering from climate whiplash — oscillating between periods of extremely wet and dry conditions exacerbated by a warming atmosphere.
Why it matters: This whiplash, coupled with decades of land management practices that have strictly limited fire from the landscape, is increasingly creating conditions in some places for destructive and devastating fires.
