Residents of Maui, facing rapid wildfires, questioned why the renowned Hawaiian emergency siren system didn’t sound a warning as the flames approached their homes.
On Thursday, officials verified that there was no record of the alert sirens sounding before the firestorm that resulted in the tragic loss of at least 55 lives and the destruction of a historic town.
Hawaii proudly claims a comprehensive outdoor emergency alert system, the largest of its kind globally, comprising around 400 sirens scattered across the islands. However, numerous survivors from Lahaina stated they neither heard any sirens nor knew about the impending threat until they either saw the fire or experienced nearby explosions.
Thomas Leonard, a 70-year-old Lahaina retiree, became aware of the danger only upon smelling smoke. With both power and mobile connectivity disrupted, the town lacked instant information. Leonard’s escape in his Jeep was short-lived as he soon had to flee on foot due to nearby car explosions. He took shelter behind a seawall, facing hours of harsh winds carrying ash until firefighters eventually came to his rescue.
Adam Weintraub, the spokesperson for the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, mentioned that no sirens went off in Maui that day, according to their records. Instead, emergency alerts were dispatched to mobile phones, TVs, and radio stations. Unfortunately, it remains uncertain if these notifications were sent before the widespread communication breakdowns.
Maui has experienced inconsistent communication channels, with failures in 911, landlines, and cell services. Some areas also faced power outages. The swiftly moving fire, fueled by the dry season and intensified by hurricane winds, caught Maui off guard, consuming everything in its wake.
Chief Brad Ventura of the Maui Fire Department expressed the fire’s speed made it challenging to convey messages to agencies handling emergency alerts.
This catastrophe is Hawaii’s most fatal since the 1960 tsunami on the Big Island that claimed 61 lives. During a press briefing, Governor Josh Green anticipated the death count might increase as rescue operations persist. After surveying the aftermath in Lahaina, he likened the devastation to a bombed town.
Interestingly, the 2018 Camp Fire in California was the last wildfire in the U.S. with such a severe toll, with 85 casualties. The risk of wildfires in Lahaina had been previously acknowledged, with Maui County’s 2020 mitigation plan highlighting Lahaina and other areas as high-risk zones.