More than six months after the worst wildfire in the United States in more than 100 years gutted the historic town of Maui, authorities are still trying to figure out what went wrong and whether similar disasters will occur in the future. We’re trying to figure out exactly how to prevent disaster from happening. But two reports released this week fill some of the blanks.
The latest is a detailed timeline of the fire that ripped through downtown Lahaina on Aug. 8, 2023, killing 101 people. The investigation, announced Wednesday by Hawaii Attorney General Ann Lopez, is the first phase of a comprehensive three-part investigation being conducted by the Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI), with additional investigations expected in the coming months. It is scheduled to be held.
The day before, the Maui Fire Department released an after-action report prepared by the Western Fire Chiefs Association. It detailed the challenges the department faced and made more than 100 recommendations for improvement.
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Key takeaways from the report include:
Communication amidst the chaos was difficult.
Heavy winds toppled power lines and poles across Lahaina, and the first fire of the day broke out when a live power line snapped and hit dry brush. But firefighters and police received mixed messages about whether Hawaiian Electric had shut down the power lines, according to the FSRI report.
In the early afternoon, before the first fire reignited and began engulfing the town, utility workers told firefighters they could not confirm whether power lines had been knocked out. It wasn’t until fires started breaking out in homes that dispatchers contacted Hawaiian Electric and received confirmation that the power was out.
Photos of the victims are displayed under a white cross at the August 2023 Wildfire Victims Memorial on the Lahaina Bypass Expressway in Lahaina, Hawaii, Dec. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Lindsay Wasson, File)
The report also described communication breakdowns between police, firefighters, and other emergency personnel. Mobile phone networks were down, and police and fire agencies were using separate channels that civil servants and others could not hear. In an overwhelmed dispatcher, one operator was trying to monitor her five or six channels at once.
Residents and tourists were unable to receive emergency alerts or contact loved ones, and 911 operators were flooded with calls. One of the operator’s girlfriends was off-island and couldn’t get geolocation on the call, so she didn’t know where to send people evacuating from the blaze.
Meanwhile, Maui Emergency Management Agency Director Herman Andaya, who was off-island in a business meeting, was receiving regular texts and calls from staff about the rapidly changing fires. After a series of evacuations in Lahaina, he asked his assistant if he should go home, but was told “it might be okay,” the report said. Hours later, after much of the town had burned down, Andaya said he would return home the next morning.
A follow-up report issued by the police earlier this year also identified communication problems and recommended that a senior police officer be stationed at the island’s communications center in the event of future emergencies.
The fire broke out quickly and relentlessly, with few escape routes.
Firefighters believed they had extinguished a morning wildfire near parts of the town far from the sea. However, less than 40 minutes after they left the scene, the blaze reignited and quickly spread from house to house in the neighborhood.
Gusty winds that continued to knock down power lines pushed embers and burning debris deeper into Lahaina.
Black smoke reduced visibility to near zero at times as firefighters and other emergency services scrambled to evacuate homes and evacuate people to safety. Roads that were not obstructed by trees, utility poles or wires were also jammed with traffic, sometimes coming to a standstill.
But even if all the roads were clear, there would likely be a limited amount of time people would have to evacuate. Within 90 minutes, the ignition reached the sea and spread north and south, according to the FSRI report.
Some people died in their cars. Some people jumped into the sea to escape the flames. Some people abandoned their cars and fled on foot.
Resources scattered and stretched thin
Tuesday’s report said firefighters did everything in their power, including cramming survivors into fire trucks and transporting them to safety, physically moving victims away from danger, and taking shelter behind their own disabled vehicles. He reportedly risked his life many times.
When Lahaina started burning, many of the department’s personnel and engines were already deployed to fight wildfires in other parts of the island. Backup fire engines used in emergencies were not fully stocked with equipment, and valuable time was lost replenishing equipment before operations could begin.
The report also highlighted the lack of mutual aid agreements between Hawaii’s counties, meaning there is no standard way to request assistance from neighboring islands. Officials also lacked a plan to evacuate tourists and residents who did not speak English, and language barriers made it difficult for firefighters to warn some residents of the need to evacuate. .
What’s next?
FSRI investigators are still trying to obtain some records from the Maui Emergency Management Agency. Research program manager Derek Alconis said Wednesday that he has requested incident activity logs and other records from MEMA multiple times, but he has not yet received all the data.
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Alconis did not go into detail about the “difficulties in obtaining information” from authorities, but said the reasons for this “will be analyzed in a future report.”
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is preparing a report on the origin and cause of the fire on behalf of the Maui Fire Department. The report is not yet complete, but is expected to be released in the coming months.
