Hawaii taps outside investigator as wildfire response scrutiny grows

The state of Hawaii will hire an independent investigator to investigate how state and local agencies responded to devastating wildfires that have killed more than 100 people, the state attorney general announced Thursday. .

“This will be an impartial and independent review,” Attorney General Anne Lopez said in a statement. According to the Attorney General’s Office, investigators will come from a third-party private organization with emergency management experience.

Recruiting outside investigators amid growing doubts whether emergency management officials have given residents enough warning as wildfires spread rapidly in West Maui last week, razing the historic town of Lahaina to ashes A decision was made.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said at a press conference Wednesday that this was not a criminal investigation.

“This is by no means a criminal investigation,” Green said. “We are now looking for ways to deal with the reality of fires happening month after month for decades to come and how to stay safe as we head into hurricane season.”

Mr. Green last week ordered the attorney general to launch a comprehensive investigation into the bushfires. Amid growing calls for an independent investigation, Mr. Lopez decided to cooperate with an outsider.

The deadliest wildfires in more than 100 years in the United States and the deadliest disaster in Hawaii’s history, at least 111 people died in fires and thousands left homeless.

Lahaina, a town of about 13,000 people, was devastated by the fire. Greene said more than 2,700 structures were destroyed with an estimated value of $5.6 billion.

The Maui County Emergency Management Department has come under fire for not sounding its warning sirens during the fire.agency’s website It lists wildfires as situations in which the siren may be activated. The agency said the alerts were sent through text messages, television and radio.

Maui Emergency Management Commissioner Herman Andaya defended his decision not to sound the sirens during the fire. Andaya said the sirens are mainly used for tsunamis and the public is trained to look for high ground when the sirens are activated. He said it would have been dangerous to flee to higher ground during the bushfires.

Using the Hawaiian word for mountainside, Andaya said at a news conference on Wednesday, “I was afraid people were becoming ‘mauka’. If they were, they would jump into the fire. I would have stayed,’ he said.

“It should also be noted that there were no sirens on the mountainside where the fire was spreading, so even if they did, the people on the hillside would not have been saved,” Andaya said. said.

The wildfires spread suddenly and rapidly last week, fueled by strong winds from Hurricane Dora, combined with drought conditions in the state.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but power company Hawaii Electric has come under increased scrutiny. Four separate lawsuits in Hawaii state court allege that an outage in the company’s power lines contributed to the fire.