The major Maui wildfires people refer to were primarily in and around the town of Lahaina on the west side of the island of Maui in August 2023, with additional separate fires in upcountry areas like Kula and Olinda in central Maui.

Main fire locations

  • Historic Lahaina town, along the west Maui coastline, suffered the most catastrophic damage, especially neighborhoods near Front Street and surrounding residential areas.
  • Other significant wildfires burned in the upcountry region of Maui, including rural, higher-elevation communities such as Kula and nearby areas on the slopes of Haleakalā.

What ā€œMaui firesā€ usually means

  • When people say ā€œthe Maui fires,ā€ they almost always mean the Lahaina wildfire disaster of August 8ā€“9, 2023, which destroyed much of the town and caused major loss of life.
  • In news, maps, and government resources, the phrase can also cover the cluster of fires across west Maui (Lahaina area) and upcountry Maui that were burning during the same period.

Geographic context

  • Lahaina is on the leeward (drier) west coast of Maui, across the Pailolo Channel from the island of LānaŹ»i and south of Kāā€˜anapali and Nāpili, all part of west Mauiā€™s resort and residential corridor.
  • The upcountry fires occurred inland, in cooler, more rural zones above towns like Pukalani and Makawao, distinct from the coastal tourist areas but still part of the same island-wide emergency.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.