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A satellite image shared by NASA has revealed the intensity of the deadly wildfire sweeping through the Hawaiian island of Maui. These fires, which began last week, are the deadliest in the US in over a century. The town of Lahaina, situated on the island’s west coast, was particularly hard-hit as fast-moving flames rapidly engulfed the area on August 8th, leaving behind complete devastation. Shockingly, none of the island’s 80 alarms were activated, giving residents little time to escape. Many survivors sought refuge in the sea and have now returned to find their homes and livelihoods destroyed.

The image, taken by the Landsat 8 satellite’s Operational Land Imager (OLI) at 10:25 PM local time on August 8th, highlights multiple fires across the island. These active fires are depicted in yellow on top of a natural-color mosaic image.

Unlike other regions where wildfires are a regular occurrence, fire is not a natural part of the annual cycle in Hawaii’s lush archipelago. However, the decreasing rainfall that the state has experienced since 1990, both during the dry and wet seasons, has contributed to parts of Maui being declared in “moderate to severe drought” at the time of the fires.

In addition to the dry conditions increasing the susceptibility to wildfires, the fires were further fueled by high pressure to the north of the island and Hurricane Dora passing to the south. These weather patterns brought strong winds of up to 67 miles per hour, which helped spread the fires with deadly speed. While the average wildfire moves at a speed of around 14 mph, extreme conditions allow them to travel at speeds faster than a moving car, putting those in their path in extreme danger.

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