copying what I posted above. Also adding, an old friend lives on Maui and has been filling me in with details, which i have posted.
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These were wind driven fires, winds 60-80 mph. Fires started by trees falling on electric lines. Fires start that way very commonly around here. Wind driven fires are the very, very worst, burning embers can and do travel up to one mile or more and start spot fires. Fires can burn in a circle, as the fire burns, it creates a black area when all the fuel is burned, and the outside perimeter continues burning, which can easily be a circle.
People not familiar with wildfire behavior can see “mysteries” where there are simple explanations. That side of Maui is the dry side.
Thus, boats can easily catch fire from wind driven embers, no mystery about it. The wind was blowing in that direction, that’s why Lahaina burned to the ground, all those burning houses, vegetation, etc created embers that blew over the ocean and the boats caught fire from the embers.
This man’s video captures what you explained in real time during those Maui fires.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_oBXVdF2Tw&t=2s
I’ve been seeing the locals, in other videos, claiming the death count is probably going to be much higher. Just wondering if you have been hearing the same. I hope not, it’s pretty tragic enough.
Regarding wind driven fires, we had one in northeast Tennessee a few years back in a particularly dry summer. Some youngsters, despite a ban on fires, had a small campfire, and some 60+ mph winds took the embers many miles, resulting in a huge, fast fire in Gatlinburg, TN.
An interesting video from the Gatlinburg fire, where the narrator narrowly escapes coming down from the mountains, from Chalet Village. I have stayed in cabins in Chalet village in the past. Good part starts around 4:20 in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI2sgyoiL1o