(The Guardian) Questions arise over inadequate response
As search and rescue crews continue to uncover the scale of the massive and devastating toll in the historic town of Lahaina, anger is building among residents over various aspects of the government response, from warnings during the inferno to aid distribution afterwards. Residents have asked why emergency sirens didn’t warn Lahaina residents in time to evacuate.
Officials have said there wasn’t time to adequately alert the city before the wind-driven firestorm tore through homes and businesses. Along with the lack of warnings, residents are questioning why plans weren’t in place to ensure a quick and effective response for victims still grappling with the ongoing issues caused by the fire, including contaminated water, widespread power outages, and a lack of response programming and infrastructure that could help streamline aid brought in from the outside.
“I feel like the citizens of this island have been called upon, maybe by a higher power, to actually help because no one else is helping,” Kai Lenny, a professional surfer told the Washington Post. “We are Maui, an island 100 miles from the largest military in the world…72 hours later where is the navy, the hospital ship, helicopters, the military, the natural disaster relief infrastructure that should have been here by now,” local restaurant owner Kaili Scheer wrote on Instagram, in a post pleading for help that’s now been shared by tens of thousands.
While the cause of the brush fire is still being determined, experts are looking into whether active power lines may have ignited the blaze, that spread quickly in the hot, dry, windy weather. Days before the fire erupted, weather forecasts warned of dangerous fire conditions triggered by strong winds and low humidity, but still power sources were left on by the utility that serves roughly 95% of the state. So-called “public safety power shutoffs” help reduce fire risks caused by electric infrastructure, but Hawaiian Electric hadn’t adopted the strategy as part of its mitigation plan.
“That is one of the devastating parts here — we knew this could happen,” Andrea Barretto, the co-executive director of the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization, a nonprofit dedicated to prevention and recovery, noting that the organization released a preparedness plan for west Maui communities roughly a decade ago. But, she said, resources were in short-supply and the community lacked the experience to handle large-scale fires. “You can have a plan on paper but it doesn’t mean it is going to turn into effective implementation unless you have practiced it.”
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