In Hawaii, on the island of Maui, warning sirens were not activated when a devastating wildfire began to spread on Tuesday, says the authority in charge of emergency situations in Hawaii.
The governor of Hawaii has ordered an investigation into the state’s response to the wildfire, reports CNN.
In Hawaii, on the island of Maui, warning sirens were not activated when a devastating wildfire began to spread on Tuesday, says the authority in charge of emergency situations in Hawaii. NBC News and CNN reported on the matter, among others.
Other parts of the emergency warning system, including alerts on mobile devices, television and radio, were activated, the agency said. Based on the log data, however, no one tried to activate the emergency sirens.
There are 80 sirens in the warning system on Maui. According to the authorities, their use is intended to alert people to seek additional information, and their use does not automatically mean an evacuation order.
The death toll from the wildfire that severely damaged the coastal city of Lahaina has already risen to 67, says Maui County. The fire has still not been brought under control, it was reported early on Saturday in a statement published in Finnish time.
Governor of Hawaii Josh Green previously estimated that the death toll would still rise.
The fires spread like lightning
The governor has ordered a thorough investigation into the state’s actions in responding to the fires, including why warning sirens were not used, CNN reports.
The fires that broke out on the west coast of Maui on Tuesday spread at lightning speed due to the strong winds of storm Dora, which moved near the Hawaiian island group. A sea of fire surrounded the coastal town of Lahaina so quickly that some residents jumped into the sea to escape the flames.
On Friday, the residents of Lahaina began to return to their homes – or to their burnt-to-ash remains.
64 years old Keith Todd was allowed to return to the undamaged home.
– I am grateful, but at the same time this is shocking, he told the news agency AFP.
Having lost his home to a fire Anthony La Puente mourned the priceless things he had lost, such as his father’s belongings.
– I can only say that it hurts, he told AFP.
According to CNN, the Lahaina fire has now officially become the deadliest natural disaster in the state’s history.
In 1946, the tsunami that hit the islands killed 158 people, but Hawaii was not a state at that time.