Herman Andaya Las Vegas (2024)

FAQs

Where was Andaya during the fire? ›

At the time, Andaya was attending the Pacific Partnership Meeting in Honolulu and later said he felt the situation could be properly managed by experienced subordinates, according to the report. – At 9:30 a.m., Andaya replied saying there were two fires on Maui, the Kula and the Lahaina fires.

power line. Whether there were two separate fires is important because Hawaiian Electric Co. has acknowledged a downed power line caused the morning fire by igniting dry grass. That detail is a central allegation in hundreds of lawsuits filed against the company.

Gaye Gabuat - Secretary/Copart Coordinator (Maui Sublot)/Accounts P/R/Computer Tech Specialist - Campos Auto Body & Towing, Inc.

Andaya ultimately said that officials feared residents would believe a tsunami was coming and evacuate to higher ground if they heard the sirens. “Had we sounded the siren that night we're afraid that people would've gone mauka,” he said, using the Hawaiian directional term that can mean toward the mountains or inland.

Authorities collected DNA samples from family members to identify remains. Some of the collected remains were as small as a quarter. DNA testing allowed officials in September to revise the death toll downward, from 115 to at least 97.

It warned that Lahaina was among Maui's most fire-prone areas because of its proximity to parched grasslands, steep terrain and frequent winds. The plan, which involved Maui and state officials, laid out a multitude of mitigation measures that needed to be undertaken to shield the area around Lahaina from fires.

The resort is right next to the Feast at Lele, the lesser-known luau also owned by the Hoaloha Na Eha partnership, that burned to the ground. While the Old Lahaina Luau did not burn, the perfectly manicured property suffered extensive wind and smoke damage, and lost several trees.

It confirms information that the fire started near the Lahaina Intermediate School around 6:30 in the morning that day.

Maui Hotels Affected by the WildFire

Two historical Maui hotels, the Plantation Inn and Best Western Pioneer Inn, are among the hotels in downtown Lahaina. These two properties have been destroyed by the wildfires.

Mayor Richard Bissen today announced that Amos Lonokailua-Hewett has been selected as the new administrator of the Maui Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), effective Jan. 1, 2024.

Who is the head of Hawaii Emergency Management Agency? ›

The director is major general Kenneth S. Hara and the administrator is James DS. Barros. The agency employs roughly 70 personnel focused on emergency management duties.

Haleakalā, the only active volcano on the Island of Maui, erupted most recently between about 600 and 400 years ago. In the past 1,000 years, at least 10 eruptions produced lava flows and tephra cones from the rift zone that crosses the volcano from southwest to east and through Haleakalā Crater.

A Red Flag Warning is issued when the combination of dry vegetation and weather conditions creates an extremely high fire risk.

Officials worried that people would confuse the sirens for a tsunami warning and run uphill – which in this case, would have been toward the fire.

Challenges to communication and evacuation, unprecedented weather conditions and the lack of a "heightened sense" of emergency about fire warnings from the National Weather Service are just a few of the factors that contributed to the devastating fires on Maui last August laid out in two reports released this week.

Hawaii power utility takes responsibility for first fire on Maui, but faults county firefighters | AP News.

The deadliest U.S. wildfire in over a century devastated the Hawaiian island of Maui in August 2023, claiming 102 lives and leveling the historic town of Lahaina, according to Maui County officials.