Investigators Find No Sign Hawaii Heeded Fire Warning

Investigators reviewing the emergency response to last year’s devastating wildfire on Maui said in a report released Friday they found “no evidence” that Hawaii officials made preparations for it, despite days of warnings that critical fire weather was about to arrive. That lack of planning hindered efforts to evacuate the historic town of Lahaina before it burned in a conflagration that claimed 102 lives, the report said. Recommendations include Maui police, firefighters, the state land department, and Maui emergency managers work on their procedures for joint incident management, per the AP. “These procedures are very common in other jurisdictions in the United States,” the report said.

A weather forecaster with the National Weather Service emailed fire managers an “unprecedented advance warning” on Aug. 4, 2023, of the danger that would develop on Aug. 8, including extreme winds as a hurricane passed far to the south, according to the report released by the state attorney general. The email stressed the unusual certainty of forecast models and “significant concern” on the part of forecasters. But in the ensuing four days, the report found, there is no evidence that key agencies—including the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, Maui Fire Department, and Maui Police—developed plans for dealing with severe wildfire risk, such as by having extra staff on duty, stationing emergency vehicles or supplies in high-risk areas, or plotting possible evacuations.

The heroic efforts of firefighters and police—who frequently risked their lives, sometimes sprinting door-to-door to warn residents to leave or piling evacuees into their cars to drive them to safety—were undercut by a lack of planning as the deadliest US wildfire in a century destroyed thousands of buildings and caused billions in damages. Neither Maui County nor the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency immediately responded to emails seeking comment. “This investigation serves as a wake-up call for the state and county governments to learn from the past and urgently prepare for the future,” Attorney General Anne Lopez said in a statement accompanying the report.

(More Hawaii wildfires stories.)