Daily Mail, Sophie Mann: Just weeks after deadly wildfires devastated Maui, brushfires on Saturday again sparked evacuations and fears for local residents already trying to rebuild their lives.
Saturday afternoon, Hawaii Governor Josh Green issued an area alert with an evacuation order for parts of Kaanapali – which is just one town over from Lahaina.
‘Evacuate your family and pets now, do not delay. Expect conditions that may make driving difficult and watch for public safety personnel operating in the area,’ wrote Green in a follow-up alert.
Around 12.45pm, the fire broke out close to the Kaanapali resort area, where many Lahaina families are now staying.
By 2.45pm a Maui County alert stated that firefighters had ‘stopped forward progress of the fire. No additional threats or evacuation order (sic) are in place. We will provide updates as information becomes available.’
The area is near where wildfires destroyed a town and left 115 people dead. Another 300 people are still missing as search crews continue to scour the area.
The evacuation order was lifted at 5pm, when the fire had been 90 percent contained. Power was restored to the area by 7pm.
There were no reports of injuries or damage caused by the blaze.
Famed actor and Hawaii native Jason Momoa posted video of the brushfire to his Instagram account on Saturday. The video showed a car driving along the road and the fire burning on the hillside.
Lei Casco, 34, said Saturday’s warnings triggered her flight mode as she packed her car, including children.
Casco and her extended family lost five apartments and one single-family home in the Lahaina fire. She told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser the weekend alerts and evacuation orders prompted ‘flashbacks and PTSD’ to their experience on August 8.
‘My three boys were crying,’ she said.
Once she and her children were out of harm’s way, her stress transformed into anger at the emergency response authorities used on Saturday that was nowhere to be found earlier this month.
‘They put on the sirens and alerts to cellphone, which they didn’t do when Lahaina burned,’ Casco said. ‘But all of a sudden, they do it now.’
The warning sirens notably did not go off during the first Maui blaze were heard all around West Maui on Saturday afternoon.
The cause of the brushfire is still under investigation.
The weekend response was led by Darryl Oliveira, the interim interim director of the Maui Emergency Management Agency – he was named to the post Friday.
His predecessor, Herman Andaya, resigned on August 17, after questions of his background and the response to the deadly fires. He defended his decision not to activate the county’s Civil Defense sirens during the 1,000-degree blaze that killed at least 115 people.
The search for bodies across Lahaina has been extended to the ocean, where dive teams were scouring the waters for remains last week.
Many people fled into the water as fires swept through the historic town – destroying more than 2,000 buildings – and it is feared that some many have drowned.
Names on the missing list were deemed validated if officials had a person’s first and last name and a verified contact for the person who reported them missing, officials said.
An additional 1,732 people who had been reported missing have been found safe as of Thursday afternoon, officials said.
Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said Tuesday that his team faced difficulties in compiling a solid list of the missing. In some cases, people provided only partial names, and in other cases names might be duplicated.
Many people displaced by the fires turned to emergency shelters as they lost their homes to the blaze.
On Friday, Green announced a milestone as the shelters had been cleared and all evacuees had been placed in hotels, vacation rentals or other housing.
‘We want to thank our partners at the American Red Cross, FEMA, the hotel industry and Airbnb, for stepping up during this unprecedented tragedy, Green said, according to Hawaii NewsNow.
The housing measures are temporary, and Green said the state is developing long-term solutions.
The developments come after Maui County sued Hawaiian Electric Co. on Thursday, saying the utility negligently failed to shut off power despite exceptionally high winds and dry conditions.
Witness accounts and video indicated that sparks from power lines ignited fires as utility poles snapped in the winds, which were driven by a passing hurricane.
Maui County says the failure to maintain the system and the grid caused systemic failures and started three fires on the island.
‘Maui County stands alongside the people and communities of Lāhainā and Kula to recover public resource damages and rebuild after these devastating utility-caused fires,’ the lawsuit states.
‘These damages include losses to public infrastructure, fire response costs, losses to revenues, increased costs, environmental damages, and losses of historical or cultural landmarks.’.
The suit asks for an unspecified amount of damages.
Hawaii Electric said in a statement it is ‘very disappointed that Maui County chose this litigious path while the investigation is still unfolding’.
Prophetic Link:
“The ungodly cities of our world are to be swept away by the besom of destruction. In the calamities that are now befalling immense buildings and large portions of cities God is showing us what will come upon the whole earth. He has told us: “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it [the coming of the Son of man] is near, even at the doors.” Matthew 24:32, 33.” Testimonies to the Church, Vol. 7, page 83.3.