18 August 2023 , 03:31
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The head of the Maui Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), besieged with criticism for his failure to activate the disaster sirens during last week's wildfire response, has resigned from his post.
MEMA Administrator Herman Andaya's resignation was accepted effective immediately on Thursday by Mayor Richard Bissen, the County of Maui announced on a Facebook post. Health reasons were cited as the motivating factors leading the resignation.
“Given the gravity of the crisis we are facing, my team and I will be placing someone in this key position as quickly as possible and I look forward to making that announcement soon,” Mayor Bissen said in the statement.
Hawaii lauds itself as having the largest system of outdoor alert sirens in the world but as the brutal blaze swept through the island, the lack of sirens was noticeable (AP)Hawaii lauds itself as having the largest system of outdoor alert sirens in the world but as the brutal blaze swept through the island, the lack of sirens was noticeable. Andaya defended the decision to not use the sirens on Wednesday as the official death toll rose to 111.
“We were afraid that people would have gone mauka,” Andaya said Wednesday, the Associated Press reports. "Mauka" is a navigational term that can mean toward the mountains or inland in Hawaiian. He continued: “If that was the case, then they would have gone into the fire.”
Holiday family return to find everything they own - even cat - destroyed in fire
Andaya defended the decision to not use the sirens on Wednesday as the official death toll rose to 111 (County of Maui/AFP via Getty Ima)Following a 1946 tsunami that killed more than 150 on the Big Island, the alert system was created as a means to alert the masses to impending troubles. According to its website, the system may be used to alert for fires.
On Thursday morning, a meeting was to take place with Hawaii's fire and public safety commission that Andaya was to take part in. But that meeting was abruptly cancelled, AP reports.
People watch as smoke and flames fill the air from raging wildfires on Front Street in downtown Lahaina, Maui (AP)Also on Thursday, Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez announced that an outside organisation will conduct "an impartial, independent" review into the government's response to the disastrous fires.
“We intend to look at this critical incident to facilitate any necessary corrective action and to advance future emergency preparedness,” Lopez said in a statement. While there is no direct timeline on when the investigation will end, Lopez did indicate that it would take months to complete.
On Thursday morning, a meeting was to take place with Hawaii's fire and public safety commission that Andaya was to take part in. But that meeting was abruptly cancelled (AP)Hawaiians have been left devastated by the wildfire, but also furious they weren't notified or warned earlier to evacuate the area.
For Avery Dagupion, whose family's home was destroyed, an August 8 announced from Bissen saying that the fire had been contained created a false sense of hope and safety. He now finds himself distrusting of government officials, he shared.
Bissen all but shrugged off such criticism at a recent town hall. “I can’t answer why people don’t trust people,” Bissen said. “The people who were trying to put out these fires lived in those homes — 25 of our firefighters lost their homes. You think they were doing a halfway job?”