Maui fire investigation: Maui’s top emergency officials were on a different island for a disaster training as flames flared and did not join response call until five hours after the deadly wildfires begun ~ August 28, 2023

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Maui’s top emergency officials were on another island when the wildfires begun, it emerged on Wednesday – and did not join a call about the response until five hours after the blazes broke out. 

Dozens of senior bureaucrats were gathering on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, on the island of Oahu, on August 8 for the annual meeting of FEMA coordinators in the Pacific region. 

The first fire on Maui, the Upcounty Fire, broke out in the early hours of August 8. 

Around 6:40am on that day, a school near Lahaina was evacuated, but an emergency response call was not held until nearly five hours later, at 11am.

The fire was declared ‘contained’ by 9am, CNN reported.

Yet by 3:30pm the fire had spread so significantly around Lahaina that an evacuation order was given for the town, and Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, Hawaii’s acting governor, activated Hawaii’s national guard.

The fire killed at least 115 people and more than 1,000 remain missing. 

Herman Andaya, who led Maui’s emergency response, was on Oahu when the fires broke out. He resigned last week, nine days after the fires, citing health reasons

Major General Kenneth Hara, (left), director of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency (HIEMA), and Don Aweau, (right), executive officer for HIEMA, were also on Oahu when the fires broke out

James Barros, administrator for Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, was among those at the Oahu gathering on August 8