Criticism mounts that Hawaii 'underestimated the lethality' of wildfires

A Lahaina woman saved her cat from wildfires. Photo: Moisey Slovatsky/AFP via Getty Images. deaths» of the wildfires that devastated communities on Maui, said a Democratic Party spokesman in the hardest-hit area. The backlash intensified as residents began to take stock of the devastation.

In the historic city of Lahaina, once the royal capital of Hawaii, centuries-old buildings were destroyed along with a heritage museum.

< img src= "/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/12ed69157732daca1a8b224261916017.jpg" />The people of Lahaina were allowed to return to the city for the first time, and most found their homes reduced to ashes. Photo: AP/Rick Bowmer. to disaster, despite the fact that the island bristled with warning sirens.

Jill Tokunda, House Representative for Hawaii's Second Congressional District, which includes Maui, said the state «underestimated the lethality and rate of fire.» Speaking to CNN on Saturday, she said emergency alerts were coming in on mobile phones, but there was no coverage in the area at the time.

«That's not to say that Hawaii is unknown to hurricane-force winds or dry brush or red flag conditions,» she said.

“We've seen this before in [Hurricane] Lane. We haven't learned the lesson from Lane — that wildfires can be ignited by the gale-force winds blowing south below us.

«We need to make sure we're doing better.»

About 400 sirens have been installed in the state to alert residents of tsunamis and other natural disasters. There are 80 on Maui, the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago.

However, according to the Hawaiian Emergency Management Agency, they were not activated when the Lahaina fire started, leaving many people to rely on alerts via text messages, social media, TV and radio.

One of those who was not warned by the authorities was Hector Bermudez.

Mr. Bermudez was awakened by the smell of smoke. and left his apartment in Lahaina shortly after 4:30 pm. He asked his neighbor if he was leaving too.

«He said, 'No, I'm waiting for the authorities to see what they're going to do,'» said Mr. Bermudez.

«And I said, 'No, no, please go. This smoke will kill us. You have to go. Please. You must get out of here. Don't wait for anyone.”

His neighbor, who is about 70 years old and has difficulty walking, refused. Mr. Bermudez does not know if his neighbor survived.

Some witnesses say the fire was so sudden that it seemed to engulf Lahaina in minutes, and several residents said they had to jump into the sea to escape.

D. D. Hessemer, business owner in Lahaina. , told CBS News that he decided to evacuate early Tuesday morning, shortly before the city caught fire.

“I didn't get anything at any point in time. I didn't have anything on my phone,» he told the network.

“We sort of figured it out ourselves,” Tiara Abraham, another Lahaina resident, told CBS News.

«I knew it was time to go when the smoke was so dark we couldn't see anything outside.»

HAWAII SLIDER 1108 Maui wildfires

Lahaina residents allowed to return to town on Friday for the first time since the evacuation.

However, as soon as they did so, a new evacuation order was issued for the city of Kaanapali in the nearby area, highlighting the looming threat that the fires continue to pose.

A new fire broke out near the district gas depot, which distributes fuel to residents. By Friday evening, the fire was completely contained.

The total number of victims is currently 80 people. Photo: Steven Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP

By Saturday morning, Lahaina The fire that had spread from the bushes to the city was still blazing, but 85% contained, Maui County said.

found that their property was destroyed, criticized the inadequate response of the authorities. Credit: Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

Anne Lopez, Attorney General of Hawaii, said her office will conduct a comprehensive review of the official response to the wildfires, which first broke out on Tuesday.

» My department strives to understand the decisions made. before and during the wildfires and share with the public the results of this review,” she said in a statement on Friday, adding that “the time has come to begin this process of understanding.”

The King expressed his condolences to the President of the United States on Saturday Joe Biden, expressing sympathy for the victims of the wildfires.

«My wife and I were horrified to learn of the catastrophic wildfires currently raging in Maui, Hawaii,» he said.

«We can only imagine the extent of the devastation that has engulfed the island and the heartbreaking suffering of those whose livelihoods have suffered so catastrophically.

«Our prayers remain with all those whose loved ones have gone missing missing and whose houses have been destroyed.”