Maui’s head of the Emergency Management Agency has explained that the decision not to activate the island’s emergency sirens as wildfires approached Lahaina was based on the concern that such signals might lead residents to move towards the fire instead of away from it.
Chief Herman Andaya addressed this matter during a recent press conference, defending the choice to forego the use of Maui’s emergency sirens and, instead, rely on text messages, radio broadcasts, and television alerts. Andaya clarified that the emergency sirens are typically employed for tsunami warnings, directing Hawaiians to seek higher ground. However, in this case, that would have led them toward the advancing fire.
“If we had sounded the siren that night, we feared people might have gone mauka [toward the mountains], and if that happened, they would have moved into the fire,” the emergency chief explained, as reported by The New York Post.
Andaya further elaborated, “It’s worth noting that there are no sirens mauka, or on the mountainside, where the fire was spreading down. So even if we had activated the sirens, it wouldn’t have saved those individuals located on the mountainside.”
During the press conference, a reporter cited bereaved survivors who suggested that their loved ones could have survived if the emergency sirens had alerted them to the swiftly advancing fire. Hawaii Governor Josh Green, also present at the conference, stood by Andaya’s decision following the reporter’s inquiries, and he expressed his belief that he, too, would have expected a tsunami alert upon hearing the sirens.
Last week, Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez announced that her office intends to conduct a thorough review of the decisions made by officials in the lead-up to, during, and after the wildfires.
The death toll stemming from the wildfires that ravaged the area last week has reached 111, including children. However, only 38% of the burnt region has been searched, and more than 1,000 people are likely still missing, according to the governor. Visual evidence suggests that some of the fires on the island likely originated from fallen power lines.
Security camera footage from the Maui Bird Conservation Center from last Monday captured the moment a power line sparked a blaze in the woods. Situated in the rural town of Makawao, a little over 30 miles away from the historic city of Lahaina, this conservation center was one of the locations affected. The massive fire subsequently devastated much of Lahaina.
The Makawao fire marked the initial incident of multiple fires reported on the island last week. Preceding the fires, Maui experienced strong winds from a hurricane situated hundreds of miles offshore. While the Makawao blaze did not reach Lahaina, it was one of several fires ignited on the island last Monday and Tuesday, ultimately affecting the town with a population of 13,000.