Whether they are matchsticks or not, live trees do not burn very easily if the fire passes through quickly. And from the photos I just posted, many of the trees in Lahaina are dead. Maybe the banyan, too, many photos at link.
Ponderosas on the high plains burn with very little provocation. The sap is flammable the bark, the dead needles they accumulate all make for quick ignition. That said, too many morons around here with Ponderosas fail to keep them trimmed and to remove the brush associated with them.