The Maui wildfires of 2023 are a group of four wildfires that burned on the Maui island of Hawai'i on August 8-9, 2023: the Pulehu-Kihei fire, the Lahaina Fire, the Olinda Fire, and the Kula Fire. Although the Pulehu-Kihei fire burned the most acreage, the Lahaina Fire was by far the most costly and deadly. It began around 6:30 AM as a brush fire from a downed power line, inland from the historic city of Lahaina. Firefighters responded and believed the fire contained, however, more flare-ups were reported in the same area around 2:50 pm. Downslope winds from the West Maui Mountains rapidly propelled the fire towards the coast. The fire crossed one of the main access roads to the town, the Lahaina Bypass around 3:20 pm, causing its closure and complicating evacuation efforts. The Maui Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) sent a cellphone Immediate Evacuation Warning at 4:16 PM, but only part of the town received it. MEMA has faced criticism for not activating the town sirens system, but the organization's response was to point out that those sirens would normally indicate a tsunami and prompt residents to go inland towards the fire. The fire crossed a second major road just as the evacuation warning was going out. Road closures and obstructions resulted in massive gridlock and forced dozens of people to take refuge on the seawall or in the water for hours as the fire burned in and around the historic Front Street. The US Coast Guard rescued 17 people from the water during the evening and night of August 8th. Overall, just over 100 people lost their lives in the Lahaina Fire, and over 2,000 structures were damaged or destroyed.