Maui fire officials say they need more equipment
HONOLULU — Additional equipment like fire trucks or water tankers would have helped the Maui Fire Department fight the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century last August, and crews used personal vehicles and even a moped to try to rescue residents from the flames, the agency said Tuesday.
Wildfires were burning in several locations in Maui on Aug. 8, 2023, stretching the department's limited resources. A severe windstorm made battling the flames particularly difficult, and the blaze in Lahaina quickly tore through the historic town, killing 101 people and destroying thousands of homes.
The need for additional firefighting equipment is one of 17 recommendations included in an after-action report produced for the department by the Western Fire Chiefs Association. The report details what went well when the department responded in Lahaina, Olinda and Kula on Aug. 8, as well as improvements that can be made, Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Giesa said.
Giesa and Fire Chief Brad Ventura discussed the report during a news conference Tuesday in Kula.
“There were firefighters fighting the fires in Lahaina as they well knew their homes were burning down,” Ventura said.
One off-duty safety officer repeatedly drove his personal moped into the fire zone to rescue people, according to Ventura, and other firefighters drove their own cars to the perimeter and hiked inside to evacuate people.
“While I'm incredibly proud of our department's response, I believe we can always improve our efforts,” Ventura said.
Hawaiian Electric has acknowledged that one of its power lines fell and caused a fire in Lahaina the morning of Aug. 8, but the utility company denies that the morning fire caused the flames that burned through the town later that day.
The first phase of a separate comprehensive investigation about the events before, during and after the fires is expected to be released today.