Trapped in their cars, in homes or on the beach as flames, black smoke and embers swirled around them, people in the historic Maui town of Lahaina called 911.
by GENE JOHNSON, CLAUDIA LAUER, REBECCA BOONE and AUDREY McAVOY | Associated PressFILE - The hall of historic Waiola Church in Lahaina and nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission are engulfed in flames along Wainee Street on Aug. 8, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. Trapped in their cars, in homes or on the beach as flames, black smoke and embers swirled around them, people in the historic Maui town of Lahaina called 911, the one number that might send help or tell them what to do, where to go.
The dispatchers often showed compassion, working to soothe residents and telling them to do whatever they needed to do to be safe. As circumstances changed, some callers were told to stay in their cars, others to run for their lives or to head for the ocean. Many were urged to shelter at the Lahaina Civic Center if they could make it.
The county and the families of some victims have sued Hawaiian Electric, saying the utility negligently failed to shut off power despite exceptionally high winds and dry conditions. It was an extremely dynamic situation that day, in which our dispatchers adapted to the best of their abilities,” police spokesperson Alana Pico wrote in an email.
At 3:31 p.m., a woman said her daughter already had called about an 88-year-old man left behind in their house. She wanted emergency personnel to know the sliding doors were unlocked. It wasn’t clear from the call what happened to the remaining people at the residence. Multiple people died there, authorities would later learn.
Maui County communication chief Mahina Martin said the county released the recordings to comply with a legal request for public records.
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