Agency reminded Maui about using siren systems
Prior to the historic wildfire that swept through Lahaina, destroying more than 2,200 homes and buildings and killing at least 114 people, Hawaii’s state Emergency Management Agency had reminded its counterpart in Maui that sirens could be used to alert residents of the oncoming danger.
“Before the major fire swept through Lahaina a reminder was given that the sirens could be used,” a statement from the state’s joint information center said. Officials said a “directive” was never issued regarding the activation of the sirens. “Maui County would set the policies and procedures for how their sirens are activated and who is authorized to do so.”
The statement from Hawaii’s joint information center didn’t specify when the reminder was sent.
The statement is the latest development that raises questions about the fire response from now-former Maui emergency management administrator Herman Andaya and his agency. Amid scrutiny, Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen announced Andaya’s resignation from his post Thursday, citing health reasons.
Prior to his resignation, Andaya defended his actions at a Wednesday news conference and said he had no regrets about not activating the sirens because
he feared people would go “mauka,” a Hawaiian term that could mean toward the mountains or inland. “I do not,” Andaya said in response to a reporter’s question about whether he had regrets.
“The sirens are used primarily for tsunamis and that’s why so many of them are found on the coastline,” Andaya said. “The public is trained to seek higher ground if the siren is sounded. Had we sounded the siren that night, we were afraid people would have gone mauka. If that was the case they would have gone into the fire,” he said.
However, Maui County’s website states that the “all-hazard” sirens can be used in a number of cases, including wildfires, and notes that the state has the “largest single integrated public safety outdoor siren warning system in the world.”
Instead, on the day of the fire, officials said wireless alerts were sent to cellphones, but that service outages may have stopped them from getting to residents in time.
The speed of the fire and the breakdown in communications prompted a chaotic scene, residents said, with people in Lahaina fleeing in cars stuck in traffic bottlenecks and some jumping into the Pacific Ocean to escape the flames and heat, according to previous reporting from the Chronicle.
Andaya said there were no sirens located on the mountainside where the fire was spreading. “Even if we had sounded those sirens it would not have saved those people on the mountainside.” He was not on Maui to help coordinate the emergency response when the fire broke out, Honolulu Civil Beat reported. Andaya’s agency was responsible for issuing evacuation orders, which some residents said weren’t received.
On Thursday, Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez said an outside organization will conduct “an impartial, independent” review of the government’s response to the fire, according to reporting from the Associated Press.
“Given the gravity of the crisis we are facing, my team and I will be placing someone in this key position as quickly as possible and I look forward to making that announcement soon,” said a statement that Bissen released after Andaya’s resignation.
In his resignation, however, Andaya did not mention any health concerns. “I appreciated the opportunity to head this agency for the last 6 years,” he wrote. “I have enjoyed working for the agency and am grateful for the support provided me during my tenure as administrator.”
Andaya’s qualifications for the post are being questioned after a report from Honolulu Civil Beat that he had no formal education in disaster preparedness or response. Prior to running Maui’s Emergency Management Agency, Andaya never held a full-time job in emergency management, Civil Beat reported.
According to reporting from MauiNow, Andaya beat out 40 other applicants for the job in 2017. At the news conference, Andaya pushed back on the notion that he was unqualified.
“So the news story talks about how I didn’t have experience before taking the job and that’s not true,” Andaya said while pointing to his resume, which he said included being Maui County’s Deputy Director of Housing and Human Concerns and the chief of staff to former Maui County Mayor Alan Arakawa for 11 years.
Andaya said during his time in those roles, on “numerous” occasions, he reported to the emergency operations center and undertook “numerous” trainings.
Prior to being selected for the job, Andaya said that he went through a “very arduous” process that entailed a civil service exam and interviews with emergency managers who all deemed him qualified for the role.
“To say I’m not qualified I think is incorrect,” he said.