A video of fire blowing across a street is from Ohio in 2022, not the Maui wildfires

CLAIM: A video shows a fire spreading across a street amid strong winds during the Maui wildfires.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The video is unrelated to the recent fires in Maui. It shows an incident from 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio, where high winds fueled a fire downtown.

THE FACTS: As residents are looking at a long road to recovery from the wildfire that demolished a historic Maui town and killed more than 90 people, social media users are sharing an unrelated video falsely claiming it was taken during the blaze.

The video shows strong winds carrying flames across pavement and a street, as people watch and record the dramatic scene.

“‘BREAKING: Jaw-Dropping Hawaii Video – Fire Gets Blown Across the Street!,” reads the caption of one post sharing the video on X, formerly known as Twitter. One iteration of the footage on the platform was shared more than 6,000 times as of Monday. The video was also shared on Facebook.

But the video has nothing to do with the Maui wildfires. The footage is from 2022 and taken in Cleveland, Ohio. A reverse image search shows the video was posted online in June 18, 2022. A version of the same video posted on YouTube is titled “The Flats On Fire In Cleveland, Ohio (June 18th, 2022).”

The video was included in a report that day by a local Fox affiliate, FOX 8, which said that a small fire had started in a mulch bed and was fueled by strong winds, spreading to other mulch beds.

The Cleveland Fire Department reposted a video of the same fire from a different angle at the time, saying it was likely caused by improperly discarded cigarettes that lit the dry mulch beds. The department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press on Monday.

Key elements from the video also give away its location. One sign reads “The Flats,” and there are several road and parking signs, as well as a train track in the background. These signs match with an intersection under a bridge on Main Avenue in the East Bank of the Flats in Cleveland on Google Maps.

In recent days, many social media users have shared unrelated or manipulated photos and videos to spread misinformation about the Maui fires The wildfires have killed at least 90 people as of Monday and are the deadliest in the U.S. since the 2018 Camp Fire in California.

This is part of AP’s effort to address widely shared misinformation, including work with outside companies and organizations to add factual context to misleading content that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP.