Once the death toll is finally tallied and the extent of the damages is assessed, there will be investigations into the Maui wildfires. At least, there should be, due to the revelations that the bureaucrats tasked with managing disasters were absolute garbage at their jobs. The island suffered massive brushfires that killed at least 100 people last week. Over 1,000 people are still missing, and whole communities have been destroyed. The damage currently stands at $6 billion, but that’s subject to change, making this one of the deadliest wildfires in over a century.
Hawaiian Electric allegedly knew that shutting down power to lines subjected to strong sustained winds was an effective mitigating protocol regarding wildfires. A hurricane off the coast brought on the winds. No official determination has been issued, but sparks from stressed power lines likely caused this fire.
Over the weekend, as the death toll was rising, the press questioned a vacationing Joe Biden about the crisis at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Biden responded, “No comment,” which drew an intense backlash. He really couldn’t say anything regarding this tragedy. Biden’s reputation for empathy took a hit, but while this was a horrible remark, it wasn’t the worst. Meet the Maui disaster chief who defended not triggering the alarm system on the island as the fire approached populated areas, saying those people wouldn’t have been saved anyway (via NY Post) [emphasis mine]:
Maui Emergency Management Agency Administrator Herman Andaya today defended the decision not to activate emergency sirens warning #Maui residents and visitors about the wildfires. Here's a clip from the press conference.
— Star-Advertiser (@StarAdvertiser) August 17, 2023
Details: https://t.co/0m3zSd9QmD #HInews #StarAdvertiser pic.twitter.com/lSe3iM6flj
The head of Maui’s Emergency Management Agency asserted on Wednesday that he has no regrets about failing to activate warning sirens as the apocalyptic wildfires swept through the island — despite claims the system could have saved hundreds of lives.
Chief Herman Andaya defended his decision to only send out alerts via mobile devices, radio and television, and the county’s opt-in resident alert system after his experience and qualifications for the lofty position were called into question during a press conference held by the governor.
Andaya said that the blaring sirens are typically reserved for tsunami warnings and that Hawaiians are trained to seek higher ground when they are set off, which would have been toward the fast-moving inferno that killed 110 people.
“Had we sounded the siren that night, we’re afraid that people would have gotten mauka [toward the mountains] and if that was the case, then they would have gone into the fire,” Andaya said.
“I should also note that there are no sirens mauka, or on the mountainside, where the fire was spreading down. So even if we sounded the siren, we would not have saved those people out there on the mountainside.”
CBS News has learned Maui’s emergency operations chief had no background in disaster response. It’s his department that is responsible for setting off warning sirens, which rang silent during the fires. #maui #wildfires #Lahaina #MauiFire
— Norah O'Donnell 🇺🇸 (@NorahODonnell) August 16, 2023
That probably brings zero comfort to the families of the victims. And while he claimed he has the experience, Andaya doesn’t. This shambolic response shows he’s incapable of proper communication and competent disaster management. People died, sir. Saying essentially that they would have died anyway in a situation like this is/should be unrecoverable. Someone other than Joe Biden is ahead of their skis here. Also, what the hell is this:
Hawaiian official M. Kaleo Manuel refused to release water in Maui as the fire raged
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) August 16, 2023
Manuel is deputy director of the Department of Land and Natural Resources
Here he is explaining that water should be revered, not used:pic.twitter.com/iZ6PvghwqN