Articles | Volume 24, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-47-2024
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-47-2024
Brief communication
 | 
11 Jan 2024
Brief communication |  | 11 Jan 2024

Brief communication: The Lahaina Fire disaster – how models can be used to understand and predict wildfires

Timothy W. Juliano, Fernando Szasdi-Bardales, Neil P. Lareau, Kasra Shamsaei, Branko Kosović, Negar Elhami-Khorasani, Eric P. James, and Hamed Ebrahimian

Model code and software

dongqi-DQ/GEO4PALM: Fix LAI variable names for final production (v1.1.9_lai_fix) Dongqi Lin and Jiawei https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10414751

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Short summary
Following the destructive Lahaina Fire in Hawaii, our team has modeled the wind and fire spread processes to understand the drivers of this devastating event. The simulation results show that extreme winds with high variability, a fire ignition close to the community, and construction characteristics led to continued fire spread in multiple directions. Our results suggest that available modeling capabilities can provide vital information to guide decision-making during wildfire events.
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