Lahaina Fire 2023 (Maui) — Burn Severity Map & Satellite Analysis

About this fire

The Lahaina fire was the deadliest United States wildfire in over a century. Driven by hurricane-force winds (Hurricane Dora passing south of Hawaii) through bone-dry invasive guinea grass, the fire swept through the historic town of Lahaina on Maui’s west coast on 8 August 2023 with terrifying speed. Most victims died trying to evacuate through gridlocked streets.

The fire killed at least 102 people, destroyed over 2,200 structures (most of historic Lahaina, a former Hawaiian capital), and caused an estimated $5.5 billion in damage. While the burned area (approximately 2,200 hectares) was small compared to other major wildfires, the destruction was catastrophic because it burned through a densely populated urban area, not wildland. The fire’s fuel was largely invasive grasses — Guinea grass and fountain grass introduced by colonial-era agriculture — which flash-dry during drought and burn explosively.

Timeline & severity

Date	Event
8 Aug 2023	Hurricane Dora’s winds drive fire into Lahaina; rapid spread through invasive grasses
8–9 Aug 2023	Historic Lahaina destroyed; 102+ fatalities, 2,200+ structures lost
12 Aug 2023	Fire contained
Post-fire	2,200 ha burned; $5.5 billion in damage; every structure in downtown Lahaina affected

The ecological story is one of invasion: without non-native guinea and fountain grasses covering abandoned plantation land, the fire would likely not have reached the town. Controlling invasive grasses is now central to Hawaii’s wildfire strategy.

Satellite analysis

This page presents a dNBR burn severity analysis from Sentinel-2 satellite imagery. Though dNBR is designed for vegetation burn severity, in an urban fire it also captures the destruction of built structures — their reflectance properties change dramatically when burned, and they appear as severely affected areas on the severity map. The analysis shows the extent of structural and vegetation destruction across the Lahaina burn scar, classified on the USGS dNBR severity scale.

Read our full guide: What is NBR? →

Recovery outlook

Recovery in Lahaina is primarily structural and social rather than ecological — the fire destroyed a historic town, not wildland. Vegetation recovery will be complicated by the invasive grasses that fuelled the fire: without aggressive management, guinea grass recolonises rapidly and recreates the same fire hazard. Long-term satellite monitoring can track vegetation regrowth patterns and help identify areas where invasive grasses are re-establishing, guiding fuel reduction efforts.

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