Communications breakdown left authorities in the dark and residents without alerts amid Maui fire

By Jennifer Sinco Kelleher, Rebecca Boone and Claudia Lauer, Associated PressA general view shows the aftermath of a wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023.

The new report says that five days before the flames broke out, meteorologists issued a dire warning that strengthening winds resulting from a Pacific hurricane south of Hawaii could create an extreme risk of wildfires across the islands on August 8. “Confidence in the development of critical fire weather conditions this many days away is quite rare, and we believe that this warrants a heads up to you,” a National Weather Service forecaster said in an email to Hawaii fire contacts on Aug. 3.

Meanwhile, a stretched and limited dispatch center had single operators monitoring five or six channels at a time to keep up with what was happening on the ground. “The tragedy serves as a sobering reminder that the threat of grassland fires, wildfires, and wildfire-initiated urban conflagrations, fueled by climate change and urban encroachment into wildland areas, is a reality that must be addressed with the utmost urgency and diligence – not just in Hawaii, but around the globe,” the authors wrote.

Firefighters clear debris in Kula, Hawaii, Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023, following wildfires that devastated parts of the Hawaiian island of Maui. Other recommendations include creating a statewide mutual aid program and an evacuation plan for residents and tourists who speak different languages.

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