Update lahaina-fire.stories.mdx

stories/lahaina-fire.stories.mdx

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     ## Introduction
-        On August 8, 2023, the city of Lahaina, Hawai’i located on the island of Maui faced a devastating wildfire, leaving destruction and despair in its wake. A city of over 13,000 residents bore witness to a tragedy that would go down as the deadliest U.S. wildfire since 1918. The initial fire was reportedly started from a downed powerline on Lahainaluna Road. Though initially extinguished, the fire was reinvigorated by intense wind gusts that prevailed throughout the day. The National Weather Service reported wind gusts as high as 67 mph in the area, which helped to quickly spread the wildfire across much of Lahaina during the afternoon hours of August 8. The city's fate hung in the balance as the intense winds fueled the flames, turning what was once a vibrant community into a charred landscape.
+        On August 8, 2023, the city of Lahaina, Hawai’i located on the island of Maui faced a devastating wildfire, leaving destruction and despair in its wake. A city of over 13,000 residents bore witness to a tragedy that would go down as the deadliest U.S. wildfire since 1918. The initial fire was reportedly started from a downed powerline on Lahainaluna Road. Though initially extinguished, the fire was reinvigorated by potent [gap wind](https://glossary.ametsoc.org/wiki/Gap_wind), a strong low-level wind funelling through the channel between Maui and Molokai. The National Weather Service reported wind gusts as high as 67 mph in the area, which helped to quickly spread the wildfire across much of Lahaina during the afternoon hours of August 8. The intense winds was further aided by a sharp pressure gradient caused by [Hurricane Dora](https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/worldview/worldview-image-archive/hurricane-dora-6-aug-2023&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1698703849605505&usg=AOvVaw2v_a0o1c-R2PBY6AQEbNrB), a Category 4 hurricane approximately 500 miles south of the islands when the fire began. As Hurricane Dora exerted its influence, the gap wind persisted from August 7 to 9, creating ideal conditions for the rapid expansion of a fire that began as a small brush fire but swiftly grew to consume much of Lahaina. The city's fate hung in the balance as the intense winds fueled the flames, turning what was once a vibrant community into a charred landscape.
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       layerId='landsat-nighttime-thermal'
       dateTime='2023-08-08'
       compareDateTime='2023-08-13'
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     <Caption>
-Landsat-8 nighttime thermal imagery captured on August 8, 2023, reveals fires spreading across Lahaina. Burned Area derived from Harmonized Landsat Sentinel-2 from August 13, 2023, vividly illustrates the extent of the damage.
+Landsat-8 nighttime thermal imagery captured on August 8, 2023, reveals fires spreading across Lahaina. The Burned Area derived from Harmonized Landsat Sentinel-2 from August 13, 2023, vividly illustrates the extent of the damage.
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-    A primary driver for the Lahaina Fire was a strong [gap wind](https://glossary.ametsoc.org/wiki/Gap_wind) that developed between the islands of Maui and Molokai. This type of wind is described as “a strong, low-level wind through either a relatively level channel between two mountain ranges or a gap in a mountain barrier”. The intense winds funneling between the two islands was further aided by a sharp pressure gradient caused by [Hurricane Dora](https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/worldview/worldview-image-archive/hurricane-dora-6-aug-2023&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1698703849605505&usg=AOvVaw2v_a0o1c-R2PBY6AQEbNrB), a Category 4 hurricane approximately 500 miles south of the islands when the fire began. This persistent and forceful gap wind endured from August 7 to 9, leading to a rapid expansion of the fire front. What initially started as a small brush fire quickly escalated, subsequently engulfing much of Lahaina. Additionally, much of Maui is generally more susceptible to drought conditions than the rest of the Hawaiian Islands, primarily due to the mountainous terrain blocking beneficial rainfall. These drought conditions facilitated the accumulation of dry fuel that the Lahaina Fire had access to as it spread across fields and into the city.
-This event serves as a clear depiction of cascading or compounding disasters, where multiple independent disasters converge to create a more significant and impactful crisis.
+Furthermore, a considerable portion of Maui is inherently more prone to drought conditions compared to the other Hawaiian Islands, mainly because the mountainous terrain obstructs beneficial rainfall. The US Drought Monitor Index on August 8th, 2023, underscores the prevalent dry conditions preceding the disaster. These drought conditions played a pivotal role in the accumulation of dry fuel that fueled the spread of the Lahaina Fire across fields and into the city. This event serves as a depiction of cascading or compounding disasters, where several independent disasters converge, amplifying the magnitude and impact of the crisis.
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     ## Satellite Analysis of the Lahaina Wildfire
-    Thermal imagery acquired by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Thermal Infrared Sensors (TIRS) aboard the joint NASA/USGS Landsat-8 satellite detected ongoing fires across much of the city of Lahaina during its overpass at 10:35 p.m., Local Standard Time, on August 8. TIRS and OLI take observations from several different wavelengths that can be used to better understand changes to land and vegetation from natural disasters. With a simple calculation using two wavelength bands, scientists can derive burned area from satellite observations. Burned area derived using NASA’s Harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 (HLS) products on August 13, 2023, clearly show areas most impacted by the fire. The areas identified with the highest probability of having been burned were located across the severely scorched fields just uphill from the city. 
-
-    Another technique scientists use to identify the impacts of natural disasters are false-color composite images. False-color composite imagery replaces the traditional red, green, and blue wavelength bands that correspond to how our eyes see with other wavelength bands. Fires are particularly sensitive to the near infrared (IR) and shortwave IR wavelengths. When the red, green, and blue bands are replaced with the shortwave IR, near IR, and red bands, respectively, land areas most impacted by the fire are much darker in the image than unaffected areas. 
+    Thermal imagery acquired by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Thermal Infrared Sensors (TIRS) aboard the joint NASA/USGS Landsat-8 satellite detected ongoing fires across much of the city of Lahaina during its overpass at 10:35 p.m., Local Standard Time, on August 8. TIRS and OLI take observations from several different wavelengths that can be used to better understand changes to land and vegetation from natural disasters. The Burned Area derived using NASA’s Harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 (HLS) products on August 13, 2023, clearly identifies the regions most affected by the fire. These areas, with the highest probability of being burned, are situated across severely scorched fields just uphill from the city.
+    Another technique used to identify the impacts of natural disasters are false-color composite images. False-color composite imagery replaces the traditional red, green, and blue wavelength bands that correspond to how our eyes see with other wavelength bands. Fires are particularly sensitive to the near infrared (IR) and shortwave IR wavelengths. When the red, green, and blue bands are replaced with the shortwave IR, near IR, and red bands, respectively, land areas most impacted by the fire are much darker in the image than unaffected areas. 
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-According to the Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), 2,170 acres were burned by the Lahaina Fire, destroying 2,207 structures — 86% of which were residential buildings. The fire is estimated to have caused $5.52 billion in damages, and 97 fatalities have been confirmed as a direct result of the fire. The Lahaina Fire now ranks as the deadliest U.S. wildfire since 1918. Severe drought conditions on Maui were present leading up to the wildfire — the worst drought conditions in the entire Hawaiian Island chain. Additionally,
+According to the Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), 2,170 acres were burned by the Lahaina Fire, destroying 2,207 structures — 86% of which were residential buildings. The fire is estimated to have caused $5.52 billion in damages, and 97 fatalities have been confirmed as a direct result of the fire.  In the midst of loss, the city stood as a symbol of strength, ready to rebuild and rise from the ashes.
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