“Neither Maui nor HI-EMA activated warning sirens on Maui during the wildfire,” the agency said, according to NBC News.
Hawaii Governor Josh Green said it was still “too early” to say that the silence of the sirens was a technical glitch or a deliberate decision by the operators.
“We still don’t know what really happened (with the sirens),” Maui Fire Chief Brad Ventura acknowledged Saturday.
Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez announced the opening of an investigation into the fire, including “critical decision making” as the fire spread.
“Could have been done more”
For Kamuela Kawaakoa, it is as if the city has been left to fend for itself in the face of disaster. “There were no emergency alerts. The emergency systems didn’t work. Nothing worked. Some people didn’t even know until it was too late,” the 34-year-old told AFP.
Kawaakoa, who now lives in a camp he set up outside a shelter thanks to the kindness of strangers, said that even without power or cell service, there must have been a way to tell people what was going on.
“You can still call 911 without cell service, you still need to be able to get emergency alerts on your phone,” he said. “And there are those huge sirens on the poles… I’m sure they have some way to make them work, even without electricity.” “You know, they have to be prepared for this kind of thing,” she added.
Kawaakoa, who worked at the now-burnt Captain Jack restaurant on Lahaina’s touristy Front Street that drew millions of visitors each year, said residents are discussing the possibility that downed power lines caused the fire. by gusts of wind.
The young man questions whether power should not have been shut off when it became apparent that hurricane force winds were raging in the region.
“People are starting to wonder if they could have done that, shut off the power before the winds got worse. I don’t know if they could have done that,” he said. “But I feel like more could have been done to save more people who died in this fire.”