Top emergency officials were on another island learning how to respond to disasters when Maui wildfires started
As the deadliest US wildfires in a century razed Maui, the emergency officials responsible for responding to them were all on another island — learning how to deal with exactly such a disaster, it emerged Wednesday.
The heads of the Maui and Hawaii emergency management agencies were at an annual conference on Oahu on Aug. 8, the day the fires started leveling Lahaina, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) confirmed to HawaiiNewsNow (HNN).
Key federal officials were also at FEMA’s annual disaster meeting when one of the worst disasters in recent US history started raging on the other island, the outlet said.
The officials gathering in Waikiki became part of a “coordinating call about 11 a.m.,” a state emergency management spokesperson told the local outlet of what would have been nearly five hours after the blazes started.
“There were consultations about the fires among local, state and FEMA participants,” FEMA spokesman John Mills said.
Among the attendees was then-Maui County Emergency Management Agency director Herman Andaya, the key official quickly attacked for the response to the disaster as well as his apparent lack of qualifications for the vital job.
He resigned last week, a day after defending the decision not to use emergency sirens, but blaming “health reasons” for his exit.
Others included the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency’s Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara, administrator James Barros and executive officer Don Aweau.
It’s unclear exactly when Andaya and Hara left the conference to respond to the state’s largest-ever disaster, nor did officials say who was placed in charge while the leadership was away.
The Maui and Hawaii Emergency Management agencies did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
What we know about the Maui wildfires
At least 114 people have died in the Maui wildfires that started last Tuesday.
The wildfires, fanned by strong winds, burned multiple buildings, forced evacuations and caused power outages in several communities.
The National Weather Service said Hurricane Dora was partly to blame for the strong winds that knocked out power as night came. About 13,000 residents in Maui were without power, according to reports.
People rushed into the ocean to escape the smoke and flames fanned by Hurricane Dora.
Fire crews battled multiple fires in the popular tourist destination of West Maui and an inland mountainous region. Firefighters struggled to reach some areas that were cut off by downed trees and power lines.
With questions still lingering about who knew what and when, local and state officials have been slammed over their response to the fires, with specific criticism over the lack of immediate evacuations and the island’s warning sirens failing to activate.
Just days before resigning, Andaya defended his decision to only send out alerts via mobile devices, radio, television and the county’s opt-in resident alert system, claiming that the warning sirens were unnecessary.
It came amid a flurry of questions from reporters who pointed out that he had no prior experience in emergency management before taking the lead role in 2017.
Many residents in West Maui have said they did not understand the gravity of the situation until the fires were already at their doorsteps, claiming that the sirens would have alerted them to evacuate had they gone off.
“There was no warning. There was absolutely none,” Lynn Robinson, who lost her home in the fire, previously told The Post. “Nobody came around. We didn’t see a fire truck or anybody.”
Follow the latest NYP coverage of the deadly Maui wildfires
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- Top emergency officials were on another island learning how to respond to disasters when Maui wildfires started
Residents have also criticized the federal government’s alleged slow response to the disaster, calling out FEMA for its strict bureaucracy as many are looking for financial support after their homes and businesses were lost in the fires.
Many also scoffed at reports that President Biden promised to deliver $700 one-time relief grants per household to those impacted by the fires.
