Lahaina Fire Emergency Management Response Failure

[SCEMan]

Hawaii's Emergency Warning System has 80 sirens across Maui, none of which were activated during the Lahaina fire! If not then, why have them at all?

I predict we'll see major liability issues in the near future.

Maui County officials failed to activate sirens that would have warned Lahaina of approaching fire

In the hours before a wildfire engulfed the town of Lahaina, Maui County officials failed to activate sirens that would have warned the entire population of the approaching flames

abc7.com

 

[pnwoutdoors]

Quote from that article:

But access to the main highway - the only road leading in and out of Lahaina - was cut off by barricades set up by authorities. The roadblocks forced people directly into harm's way, funneling cars onto Front Street.
​

I suspect that ^that procedural oopsie won't be taken lightly by the people of the area, either.

Can't be forcibly denying people the ability to flee, if you want them to survive. Of course, in Lahaina, as in far too many places, there is only one main road in/out/through. Wedged against the coastline, there aren't alternatives other than by foot or by sea.

In such a spot, it might be a worthwhile upgrade of one's personal security inventories to have an inflatable (or solid) kayak or canoe, something that can be used to eject onto the ocean if that becomes necessary.

 

[knucklegary]

Loss of electricity by downed power poles could have been cause of no sirens.

Fire was fast moving infernos. Sirens or not, many folks never stood a chance.

 

[SCEMan]

In a disastrous situation like this, there's no excuse for not using every warning system at your disposal...

"In fact, the state's vaunted integrated outdoor siren warning system – the largest in the world, with about 400 alarms – was not activated during the fires, according to Hawaii Emergency Management Agency spokesperson Adam Weintraub."

https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/12/us/hawaii-emergency-warning-system-maui-wildfires/index.html

 

[orbital]

+

With all of our technology,, an overriding Emergency Response Bulletin needed to happen.
tv
radio
audible sirens
cell phone
emergency bulletin on noaa channels
social media/web,,, for your area


Homeland Security gets paid to do what??

Litigation against the county is just suing ones neighbors

add: while typing, I couldn't see SCEMan last post above,, ^^

 

[orbital]

+

Would it be impossible to have the emergency sirens on gas generators.
Tested weekly at the exact same time & people know this.

(we have sirens go off every day at noon,, always have)

So if the sirens do go off, people turn on a radio, check phone etc..

 

[SCEMan]

Can't be forcibly denying people the ability to flee, if you want them to survive. Of course, in Lahaina, as in far too many places, there is only one main road in/out/through. Wedged against the coastline, there aren't alternatives other than by foot or by sea.

Having spent over 20 years in the Disaster Recovery/Emergency Management profession (I always check for an evacuation exit when entering a building).
I was always concerned on our several trips to Lahaina on the maze of streets with only 'single points of failure' exit routes.

 

[thermal guy]

I'm kinda confused as to what was fueling the fires. Looks like whole towns were melted but there's not a lot of brush/trees around.

 

[bykfixer]

Guinea grass. Lots and lots of 6 foot high straw dried out by a seasonal drought.

I suspect KG has a point. In my town for example there are 20 some sirens but they get launched by one facility. A police station with a back up generator. Yet if said building were suddenly wiped out for whatever reason, no alarms will be launched. We have a few one way in/out points in our town with a railroad and an interstate running beside them, both of which have loads of hazardous chemicals passing through. The local government has been advised for decades this could be a problem yet they've ignored it even though trains have derailed within town limits twice in my lifetime.

Concerns have been raised about the Hawiaan situation for years yet ignored by the residents and local governments. Meanwhile the invasive, not native guinea grass problem got worse every year. It was like having a Nebraska wheat field in between houses everywhere. A tinder box from hadees gaining more fuel every year.

 

[knucklegary]

Byk, add the hurricane force 70mph winds coming straight down from the heights and it was a disaster waiting to happen.
Reports that people perished inside their cars trying to escape, one car exploded after another.
I'm sure you all seen the aftermath on news.
No doubt could have been less tragic if precautions were taken..

 

[knucklegary]

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I am not attached to 9-line in anyway.. The company is located in Savannah, GA,, I am on the beach in Cali.. Profits go to Maui relief and recuse..
No disappointments🤙

 

[SCEMan]

Love to see the entertainment industry billionaires step up to the plate and fund the recovery tab. Pocket change to most of them...

 

[knucklegary]

Love to see the entertainment industry billionaires step up to the plate and fund the recovery tab. Pocket change to most of them...

Agreed, since most of them own extravagant multi million dollar homes in the islands

 

[SCEMan]

Sadly, not atypical based on my career in DR/EM.

"Andaya had zero prior career experience in emergency management prior to earning the job with the Maui EMA."

Maui Crisis Manager Whose Agency Opted Against Sounding Sirens Resigns

Herman Andaya, the administrator of Maui’s Emergency Management Agency (EMA), resigned Thursday, The Associated Press reported.

dailycaller.com

 

[turbodog]

Sadly, not atypical based on my career in DR/EM.

"Andaya had zero prior career experience in emergency management prior to earning the job with the Maui EMA."

...

 

[elzilcho]

No matter what they call them, the sirens aren't for "natural disasters," they're tsunami sirens. If the sirens had gone off, the conditioned response of residents (and some visitors, particularly those from the West Coast) would have been to immediately go mauka--inland. Except mauka is where the fire was coming from. Sure, sounding the sirens would have alerted those in the area that something was wrong, but ultimately the sirens probably would have driven a good number of people directly into the fire's path. The outcome would have been no better and possibly would have been even worse. How long would people have delayed taking refuge in the water if their first actions were to head the opposite direction?

It was (and is) a terrible situation but I don't think activating the sirens would have improved it.

 

[orbital]

+

The sirens now need to be an alert for various emergencies, period.
> check radio, phone, anything, on what's happening & directions

 

[turbodog]

Hadn't this thing been burning for days, making its way across land?