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Hawaii Attorney General releases second phase of Maui fire probe

CRAIG T. KOJIMA CKOJIMA@STARADVERTISER.COM
                                Attorney General Anne Lopez announces the Maui Wildfire Phase Two Report findings today. The state Department of the Attorney General released its second phase of findings this morning into the government’s management of the Lahaina wildfires that killed 102 people and left thousands homeless.

CRAIG T. KOJIMA CKOJIMA@STARADVERTISER.COM

Attorney General Anne Lopez announces the Maui Wildfire Phase Two Report findings today. The state Department of the Attorney General released its second phase of findings this morning into the government’s management of the Lahaina wildfires that killed 102 people and left thousands homeless.

The state Department of the Attorney General released its second phase of findings this morning into the government’s management of the Lahaina wildfires that killed 102 people and left thousands homeless.

“The report reveals no single factor led to the devastation. Instead, a complex set of factors including weather and its impacts, risk and preparedness, decades-old infrastructure, organizational structure and incident management and coordination created a historic disaster,” according to a statement from the AG’s office.

The report was prepared by the Fire Safety Research Institute, a firm contracted by the state to handle the investigation.

Hawaii has a “very high risk of wildfire” — higher than 88% of other U.S. states and Lahaina has a 98% higher risk than the rest of the country, according to the findings.

“I think the risk (of wildfires right now) is real, is a present danger, and climate change will only make things worse,” said Attorney General Anne E. Lopez, speaking to reporters in the basement of a state office building, noting the need for immediate action on the findings in the report.

The 518-page Lahaina Fire Incident Analysis Report makes 84 unique findings and 140 recommendations for improving preparation, vegetation management, communications, collaboration between stakeholders, and other policy and operational issues.

“Accurate and comprehensive data for every component can sometimes be lacking and can potentially lead to intermittent and/or unintentional gaps in the analysis. Some of the data gaps are due to the County of Maui being unable to produce the data requested, or difficulties experienced extracting usable data from some file formats provided by the County of Maui,” cautioned FSRI. “Known data gaps will be identified throughout the report. The clear framework of the Cohesive Strategy ultimately helps focus and define the boundaries of the analysis.”

The official cause and origin of the fire has not been determined.

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Maui Department of Fire and Public Safety have yet to finalize their findings and no timetable is set for public release.

The second phase the report made three major areas of recommendations according to a news release from the AG.

The perception of the risk associated with wildfires needs to be emphasized at the county, state and federal level in cooperation with the community.

Improving “decades-old infrastructure standards,” including community planning, codes and standards, public utilities and vegetation management.

All “were key contributors to the widespread fire destruction in Lahaina. Lahaina’s dense urban layout turned tragic as the fire’s initial impact hit the most populated area, rapidly spreading through closely packed structures and creating severe evacuation obstacles,” the report concluded.

Incident management and coordination during the Aug. 8 fires “consisted of a siloed command structure that contributed to a lack of communication both to the public and responding agencies.”

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Read the full report here.

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