Investigation launched as Lahaina fire death toll rises

Lahaina residents began to sift through the charred remains of their homes Friday as Maui County lifted the restriction on public access to West Maui and the death toll of this week’s horrific fire reached 80, making it the deadliest natural disaster in state history.

With questions mounting about whether residents were given enough warning about the impending disaster, the Attorney General’s Office announced that it would be conducting a formal review of the decision-making and policies leading up to, during and after the wildfires on Maui and Hawaii islands.

“My department is committed to understanding the decisions that were made before and during the wildfires and to sharing with the public the results of this review. As we continue to support all aspects of the ongoing relief effort, now is the time to begin this process of understanding,” Attorney General Anne Lopez said in a statement.

In an interview with CNN, Gov. Josh Green was asked about reports and criticisms that the public was not sufficiently warned about the Lahaina fire. He replied that he authorized a “comprehensive review” to find out exactly what happened and when.

He also said authorities were facing an unprecedented catastrophe caused by high winds linked to a passing hurricane in combination with drought conditions.

The Maui Fire Department contained a wildfire in Lahaina on Tuesday morning, but winds up to 60 mph drove a flare-up that by nighttime was engulfing Front Street and the surrounding area.

Residents who escaped the fire have complained that they received no evacuation notices before or during the inferno.

Mayor Richard Bissen Jr. couldn’t be reached for comment Friday, but during a news conference the day before he and his lieutenants defended the way the situation was handled, saying evacuation orders were made and they did the best they could under horrendous circumstances.

But timelines and details were fuzzy as a Maui County news release late Tuesday afternoon said “people on the west side” were told to shelter in place, while Bissen at the Thursday news conference said only tourists were told to shelter in place in their hotels.

County officials said electrical power was out for Lahaina most of Tuesday, with 29 power poles down and pro­bably cellphone towers, too. While communications were likely compromised, they said, multiple evacuation notifications were sent out.

“The fire that day moved so quickly that from where it started in the brush and moved into the neighborhood, communications back to those who make those notifications were physically and nearly impossible,” Maui Fire Chief Brad Ventura said.

When emergency alerts are triggered by the county, responsibility for those notifications lie jointly with the Maui Emergency Management Agency and the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.

Adam Weintraub, HI-EMA spokesperson, said three alert systems were activated during the fire, delivering notices to mobile devices, radio and television, and to the county’s opt-in resident alert system, in which people sign up for phone alerts. Weintraub added that he didn’t have the times for when the alerts went out.

Some residents have asked why the tsunami sirens were not sounded.

Weintraub said the sirens were not activated because their intended purpose is to alert the public to seek additional information. He said they do not necessarily indicate an evacuation.

“We’ll look into what we could have done better,” he said. “Right now, our focus is on bringing food, water, shelter, fuel and medical care to the people of Maui.”

Tamara Paltin, the Council member who represents West Maui, said the wind-whipped fire traveled so fast that sending first responders door to door might have been ineffective and unwise.

Police sirens may not have worked either, she said, because “I spoke to two or three people who said they closed their windows to keep out the smoke.”

Lahaina Realtor Joe Pluta didn’t get any warning Tuesday night, and he ended up losing everything — along with nearly his life.

When he went to bed Tuesday night, he felt secure in the fact that the distant blaze was in the uplands and that the wind was howling away from his Ainakea Street home. He also lived two blocks away from the Lahaina fire and police stations.

“I assumed that if the fire came my way, my neighbors or police would let me know about it. But that never happened,” he said.

Pluta, a 74-year-old veteran of the Vietnam War, woke up at 3 a.m. to the sound of his smoke alarm. Black smoke filled his room and there was only one thing he could do: He moved to his bathroom, punched out the window screen and squeezed through the gap.

“I was one minute, maybe seconds, from my death,” he said.

Pluta landed on his head after a short drop to the ground and staggered to the street, a gash on his head and clad in only a pair of soft shorts. All the homes around him were burning, and embers and sparks were stinging him.

He ran for his life and down the street, he remembered. He was eventually picked up by a fire truck and taken to an evacuation center.

Befriended by a tourist couple who gave him a T-shirt and slippers, they ended up driving him to his daughter’s house in Kahului. Fortunately, his wife, Carole, was staying in Wailuku that night.

Pluta, a longtime advocate for the West Maui community and president of the West Maui Improvement Foundation, does not blame the police or firefighters for not warning him in advance. He blames a long line of politicians for allowing fire and police stations to be understaffed.

“They’ve got to make public safety a priority,” he said. “I’ve been saying it for years.”

Disaster teams from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Department of Housing and Urban Development landed Friday on Maui and joined a team from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help with the recovery effort.

“I have directed my team to coordinate with local officials to assess impact, immediate needs, and plan for ultimate recovery efforts. HUD is invested in supporting your recovery and local HUD staff is on the ground to support,” HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge said in a statement.

In his interview with CNN, the governor said that there are more than 1,000 people “that we are still connecting with. We’re not searching for them, per se.”

“We had several hundred homes that did burn and those homes will be assessed in the coming days, starting tomorrow morning, with the FEMA team and people who can identify tragically whether someone has perished in their home,” Green said.

Green also said “without a doubt there will be more fatalities” and that officials should have “as close to a complete assessment” in the next week.

Before Tuesday’s fires, the 1960 tsunami that killed 61 people was the state of Hawaii’s deadliest natural disaster. On April 1, 1946, when Hawaii was still a U.S. territory, a tsunami generated off Alaska killed 159 people in the islands.

The governor also said the state is launching the Hawaii Fire Relief Housing Program which will use short-term rentals to house the thousands of displaced Maui residents. The state will cover the cost and is discussing the program with FEMA, Green said.

Meanwhile, county officials shut down public access to West Maui early after confrontations broke out between residents and police over access to closed Lahaina Town.

Honoapiilani Highway, which was opened at noon for the first time since the fire, was closed in both directions and motorists were told it was unknown when the highway would be reopened. Officials said people were parking on the Lahaina Bypass and walking into the closed areas considered hazardous.

Residents of West Maui with identification showing proof of residency and visitors with proof of hotel reservations were allowed to travel the highway starting at noon.