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Hawaii Wildfires: Laser beam hoax goes viral as social media buys into ridiculous conspiracy

A bizarre rumor that has gained traction online claims a laser beam had targeted Maui just before the fires consumed Lahaina

LAHAINA, MAUI: As deadly wildfires continue to ravage Hawaii, leaving a trail of destruction and prompting widespread evacuations, a bizarre conspiracy theory involving a laser beam has gained traction on social media.

The wildfires, which have already claimed dozens of lives and forced thousands to flee their homes, are a result of a perilous combination of atmospheric and land conditions conducive to "fire weather."

A significant portion of the historic town of Lahaina on Maui has been reduced to ashes due to the unrelenting blaze. Alan Dickar, a proprietor, recounted witnessing buildings on both sides of the street "engulfed" in flames.

"Maui can't handle this. ... A lot of people just lost their jobs because a lot of businesses burned. A lot of people lost their homes. ... This is going to be devastating for Maui," he said, according to CBS.

What caused the Maui fire?

The unusual wind patterns accompanying the wildfires were primarily attributed to Hurricane Dora, a Category 4 storm located hundreds of miles away from the Hawaiian islands. The storm's intense gusts, exceeding speeds of 60 miles per hour, wreaked havoc on Maui, causing power outages and damaging homes.

Even National Guard helicopters, deployed to aid in emergency response efforts, were grounded due to the escalating wind forces on Tuesday, August 8.

Major General Kenneth Hara, commander general of the Hawaii Army National Guard, emphasized, "We don't know what actually ignited the fires, but we were made aware in advance by the National Weather Service that we were in a red flag situation — so that's dry conditions for a long time, so the fuel, the trees and everything, was dry."

That, along with low humidity and high winds, "set the conditions for the wildfires," he said, as per CBS.

'This isn’t a Hollywood movie!'

In the midst of the disaster, a strange rumor began circulating on the internet that a laser beam had targeted Maui just before the fires consumed Lahaina. A post on Twitter read, "Rumors swirled that a laser beam struck the island of Maui, shortly before the fire destroyed Lahaina."

However, other users were quick to contradict this outlandish claim. Someone said, "The second pic is from a rocket launch. “Laser beam”… this isn’t a Hollywood movie…"

A third asserted, "Please stop. I live here on Maui, there were no space lasers or conspiracies to burn the place. The fires started because it's been dry, and a lot of wind kicked up. Be respectful to the people who lost everything. Just stop."

A user shared a gif with the caption, "Give me a break." Another mockingly added, "No. Stop trying to make fetch happen. No space lasers."