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Investigators Find No Sign Hawaii Heeded Fire Warning

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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.

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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.)





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Hawaii

Strengthening winds cause scattered power outages across Hawaii | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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Strengthening winds cause scattered power outages across Hawaii | Honolulu Star-Advertiser


Electricity service has been knocked out around the state amid the Kona storm today, affecting more than 17,000 customers mainly in several areas of Oahu but also on Maui and Lanai where major outages have also been reported by Hawaiian Electric.

After days of on-again, off-again rain, Hawaii is now also experiencing strong southerly winds as part of the Kona-low system. The National Weather Service predicts maximum sustained winds of up to 40 mph, with stronger gusts as high as 70 mph, especially in down-slope windward areas. Oahu, and Kauai and Maui counties are under a high wind warning until 6 a.m. Sunday.

The biggest reported outage for an area as of shortly after 11 a.m. was in Kailua and Waimanalo affecting about 3,000 customers.

In neighboring Windward Oahu communities, power was reported to be out for about 1,900 customers in Kaneohe and for about 740 customers between Waimanalo and Hawaii Kai.

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Power also was out for about 1,400 customers from Kahaluu to Laie.

In Wahiawa, power was out for about 2,200 customers.

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In parts of urban Honolulu, about 1,800 customers from Waikiki to Kahala were without electricity, as were about 1,500 customers in Kalihi and surrounding areas.

West Oahu power outages affected about 1,700 customers in the Ewa, Kapolei and Makakilo communities. There were also about 400 customers without power in Makaha, Nanakuli and Waianae.

On the North Shore of Oahu, about 300 customers were without power in the Kawailoa, Pupukea and Sunset Beach neighborhoods.

Hawaiian Electric reported 13 outages on Maui, affecting about 1,500 customers in Kahului, Wailuku and West Maui. The utility company also said 100 customers on Lanai lost power.

There were no reported outages on Hawaii island shortly before noon, according to Hawaiian Electric.

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On Kauai, where electricity is provided by the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative, only 18 customers were reported to have been without power shortly before noon.

RELATED STORIES

>>Live blog for the latest weather updates

>> Here’s a list of state and county closures, and emergency shelters

>> UH cancels or postpones athletic events Friday due to storm

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>> Hawaiian Electric urges customers to prepare for storm-related outages




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Hawaii makes most of limited chance to sweep Mount Olive | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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Hawaii makes most of limited chance to sweep Mount Olive | Honolulu Star-Advertiser




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Lokomaika’i Hawaii Heritage Center opens in Hawaii Kai, preserving mele and history

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Lokomaika’i Hawaii Heritage Center opens in Hawaii Kai, preserving mele and history


HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A non-profit focused on preserving and perpetuating Mele Hawaii has opened a cultural hub filled with pieces of Hawaiian history.

Let’s go holoholo to the Lokomaika’i Hawaii Heritage Center.

Tulutulu Mana is a curator for the Lokomaika’i Hawaii Heritage Center.

“The more I look at this space, the more I think wow, I’ve touched every single one of these pieces, which is mind-boggling,” said Mana.

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It’s like a mini museum within this 1920 plantation home; that’s right behind Lunalilo Home in Hawaii Kai.

Mana said in partnership with the King Lunalilo trust, instead of paying rent, the non-profit hosts classes three times a week and teaches kupuna about mele Hawaii and different crafts.

“A lot of our kupuna have Alzheimer’s or dementia, so getting to play music and mele Hawaii and bringing them back to their grassroots actually has stirred them up and created such life in them that the nurses have not seen,” said Mana.

The center was created by the non-profit, Hawaiian Music Perpetuation Society.

It was initially in Waikiki, but last January, they officially moved into the Lunalilo Estates.

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“And we decided that we needed to display all the artifacts that were donated to us, plus what was in the possession of some of our membership,” said Board Member Jayme Peterson. “So, we start off with doing our honor to our ali’i and their significant contributions, and then we walk them through where we came from, our cultural artifacts, our crafts, and we tell stories.”

As you tour the center, there are dozens of books, with the majority of them not in print anymore.

In addition, over 800 vinyls from across the islands, and so many stories involving Hawaiian instruments and musicians.

“Steel guitar is actually an indigenous art form, started by Joseph Kekuku, who is from Kamehameha Schools,” said Mana. “What happens was he takes a metal boat, and he runs it across the strings of a guitar, likes the sound, creates a note system, then takes this system and he tells his friends, they go out throughout the world.”

“Nashville, Tennessee, gets a hold of it, adds pedals and electronics. It is now one of their number one staples. If you go to like the Grand Ole Opry, you go to Tennessee, Nashville, they honor the Hawaiians for doing this.”

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There’s also Tau Moe, a Hawaiian Musical Group that performed around the world.

Mana said one of their stops included Germany during World War II.

“So, the boys play the steel guitar for Hitler. After that, Hitler loved it so much, he gives them the pass,” said Mana. “This pass allows them to go in and out of Germany without being stopped.”

“Our Hawaiian boys, all the way in Germany, they had actually taken out a bunch of Jews from the internment camp and saved them from the Holocaust.”

“So we would like people, our own, citizens of Hawaii, to come and learn about your heritage, as well as try to educate some of the visitors about what we Hawaiians are really about,” said Peterson.

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Tours are about one hour, and tickets are $10.

You can purchase them by clicking here.



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