Phase 2 of the Lahaina Fire Incident Analysis Report has been released, reviewing Maui County, state and federal emergency responses to the disastrous Lahaina fire of Aug. 8, 2023. Ordered by the state Attorney General’s (AG’s) Office and conducted by the Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI), it documents a woeful lack of preparation for the deadly fire, fueled by dry overgrown fields and fanned by hurricane-level winds, which destroyed much of Lahaina and resulted in the loss of 102 lives.

Many factors converged to make the Aug. 8 fire so deadly, including excessive wind speed, tinder-dry fields, flammable construction and blocked roadways. All the same, it’s impossible to ignore the report’s findings: Warnings were provided, and preparedness models exist that, if incorporated, could have averted the fire from growing out of control or have allowed for earlier intervention and evacuation as the fire reached Lahaina.

There was a county- and statewide failure to grasp the extremely high fire risk that existed that day — indeed, over four days before Aug. 8 — and that is ultimately the tragic flaw in Lahaina’s story.

As Attorney General Anne Lopez stated upon the report’s release, wildfire risk is a “real” and “present danger,” made worse by climate change, and immediate action is required to be prepared for future risks.

The recommendations included in this second phase of the investigation are key. They must be carefully considered, and adopted to the extent plausible. The FSRI makes 140 recommendations in three major categories: establishing understanding of the extraordinary risk at county, state and federal levels; improving “decades-old infrastructure standards”; and establishing a coordinated disaster-response plan, in place of the “siloed command structure” and “lack of communication” that severely hampered operations as the disaster unfolded.

The AG has been directed to list Top 10 priorities by Gov. Josh Green, and the governor must act decisively to push those priorities to the forefront of state action in coming months.

Unfortunately, it’s been a source of distraction and delay that Maui County has thrown roadblocks in the way of investigators, hampering efforts to fully describe and analyze the fire response. This includes resistance to allowing FSRI interviews with Maui Emergency Management Agency’s current chief Amos Lonokailua-­Hewett, who was incident commander for the Maui Fire Department (MFD) for West Maui fires in 2018, and requiring subpoenas for other information and interviews requested.

As the AG stated in June, gathering information about past fire response provides “important insight.” Since MFD did not file an after-action report in 2018, as should have been done, and because Lonokailua-­Hewett is in a key emergency position today, stalling on this damages not only the investigations, but Maui County’s reputation as a properly functioning local government. Whatever flaws or failings may have been on display leading to the Lahaina fire, the public is due full transparency.

The Phase 2 report is not the final word on the Lahaina disaster. An investigation to identify the official cause and origin of the fire was assigned to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Maui Department of Fire and Public Safety. But it has not been finalized, and that’s also troubling, because it appears Maui County is attempting to slow-roll this release of information, as well.

The overlapping investigations and reports have a vital purpose: saving lives, as well as preserving property, cultural history, and irreplaceable environmental features. The FSRI’s Phase 3 report will be forward-looking, addressing critical questions like, “How do we prevent this from happening again?” the FSRI states. Each county, state and federal official with a stake in that planning must treat these investigations with the utmost deference, helping to answer that question fully.