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SouthBayDem

(33,210 posts)
Fri Feb 13, 2026, 08:25 PM 8 hrs ago

Maui's Deadly Firestorm (full documentary) - PBS Frontline



Dec 17, 2024 FRONTLINE
FRONTLINE investigates the causes of the deadly August 2023 wildfire in Maui, the chaotic response, and the missed warnings.

This journalism is made possible by viewers like you. Support your local PBS station here: https://www.pbs.org/donate​

In August 2023, the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century reduced much of the Hawaiian town of Lahaina to ashes, killing more than 100 people and displacing thousands. Coming in the wake of a state investigation that found a broad cascade of failures, “Maui’s Deadly Firestorm” investigates critical missteps that day — and in the years prior, as the county and state were repeatedly advised to invest more money in prevention and preparedness, and as experts and residents raised concerns.

The documentary draws on harrowing footage filmed by those in the path of the inferno and firsthand accounts from survivors, victims’ families and friends, first responders, and local and state authorities. Through these accounts as well as a detailed analysis of over a thousand 911 calls and public records across multiple government agencies, it provides a wrenching, moment-by-moment reconstruction of the fire and its aftermath.

The film also examines how changes to the climate and landscape have made Maui increasingly vulnerable to fires and raises difficult questions about what led to the fire’s heavy toll.

“Maui’s Deadly Firestorm” is a FRONTLINE production with Mandarin Duck Films LLC. The writer, producer and director is Xinyan Yu. The producer is Christina Avalos. The senior producer is Frank Koughan. The editor-in-chief and executive producer of FRONTLINE is Raney Aronson-Rath.


Official show website with bonus material: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/mauis-deadly-firestorm/
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Maui's Deadly Firestorm (full documentary) - PBS Frontline (Original Post) SouthBayDem 8 hrs ago OP
no way to fight that kind of wind. they let it get out of control. similar wind to LA fires last year nt msongs 8 hrs ago #1
So sad. Historic whaling town. Herman Melville visited there. surfered 7 hrs ago #2

surfered

(12,458 posts)
2. So sad. Historic whaling town. Herman Melville visited there.
Fri Feb 13, 2026, 09:00 PM
7 hrs ago

Last edited Fri Feb 13, 2026, 09:49 PM - Edit history (1)

People still visit to see the whales.

I enjoyed surfing there at Breakwall. Another well known break, Honolua Bay, is just minutes north.

It’s hot there and it’s name in Hawaiian literally means “cruel sun.” There is this famous banyan tree at city center. Planted in 1873, it spread via its aerial prop roots. It seems to have survived the fire.

I hope the people rebuild and locals can continue to live there. Maluhia, peace 🙏

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