August 10, 2023

The perfect storm of weather conditions that led to the devastating wildfires in Maui

WATCH: Wildfires in Hawaii cause mass evacuation

A perfect storm of weather conditions led to the massive inferno that has killed dozens of people in Maui and caused widespread destruction on an island best known as paradise.

The fires, which sparked Tuesday night, were fueled by an unfortunate combination of a landscape parched by drought conditions and strong winds.

MORE: Maui wildfires live updates: Chaos at Maui's main airport as hundreds try to leave

High pressure created strong trade winds, across the eastern Pacific Ocean. Hurricane Dora, passed 750 miles south of Hawaii strengthening pressure gradient across the Pacific Ocean and enhancing wind gusts. Some of the wind gusts across Hawaii were 67 to 82 mph.

NOAA
A satellite image of Hurricane Dora passing just south of Hawaii's Big Island, Aug. 7. 2023. Dora was moving west at 23 mph. with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph

In addition, parts of Maui, including much of the island's west coast, are currently under severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

MORE: Before-and-after images show devastation in Maui due to wildfires

The fires seemed to ignite out of nowhere, Hawaii Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke told reporters in a news conference on Wednesday.

"We never anticipated in this state that a hurricane, which did not make impact on our islands, would cause this type of wildfires," Luke said. "Wildfires that wiped out communities. Wildfires that wiped out businesses. Wildfires that destroyed homes."

U.S. Dept. of Defense via AFP/Getty Images
A helicopter with the Hawaii Army National Guard performs aerial water bucket pick up to fight wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui, Aug. 9, 2023.

The devastation has been widespread on the island, with before-and-after satellite images showing miles of scorched earth and infrastructure. On the west coast of the island, much of the historic town of Lahaina has been devastated.

While the winds died down to about 30 mph on Thursday, they still posed some difficulties for firefighters, who managed to get the fires to about 80% contained by Thursday afternoon.

MORE: Maui's cultural, historic landmarks damaged in the devastating wildfires

The origin of the fire has not yet been determined.

Mass evacuations were in place on the island as hundreds tried to flee to the Maui airport.

MORE: 'I was trapped': Maui fire survivors speak out as emergency declared

President Joe Biden has approved an emergency declaration to make federal funding available to help those affected in Maui County.

ABC News' Kenton Gewecke and Ginger Zee contributed to this report.