MSNBC’s anchor Alex Wagner surprised me (positively) a couple nights back by suggesting that the Lahaina conflagration needs to be put into perspective, including the experience of colonization and the accompanying transformation of the environment. She mentioned no details, but she might have mentioned that native pili grass, used traditionally for thatching, has been overtaken most places by intrusive species like molasses grass (introduced ca. 1900 for cattle forage), described by U.S. Department of Agriculture as “highly flammable, quick burning, and promotes fire by increasing vegetation horizontal continuity in invaded communities.” After a fire molasses grass tends to recover, and spread at the expense of indigenous grass. So maybe we can accord some blame for the hellish conflagration in Lahaina on such locally specific conditions. More

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