When Hawaii’s last sugar cane plantation shut down in Maui in 2016, it marked the end of an era when sugar reigned supreme in the archipelago’s economy. But the last harvest at the 36,000-acre plantation underscored another pivotal shift: the relentless spread of extremely flammable, non-native grasses on idled lands where cash crops once flourished.

Varieties such as guinea grass, molasses grass and buffel grass — which originated in Africa and were introduced to Hawaii as livestock forage — now occupy nearly a quarter of Hawaii’s landmass. Fast-growing when it rains and drought resistant when lands are parched, such grasses are fuelling wildfires across Hawaii, including the blaze that claimed at least 93 lives in Maui last week.