Maui residents who made desperate escapes from oncoming flames, some on foot, asked why Hawaii's famous emergency warning system didn't alert them as fires raced toward their homes.
Posted: Aug 11, 2023 6:13 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours agoActive fires and plumes of smoke rose from a landscape of destroyed buildings in what was left of the historic town of Lahaina on the Hawaiian island of Maui. At the town's gathering place, Banyan Court, trees charred in the wildfires include a 150 year old banyan tree.
Firefighters eventually arrived and escorted Leonard and other survivors through the flames to safety. "Lahaina, with a few rare exceptions, has been burned down," Green said after walking the ruins of the town Thursday morning with Maui Mayor Richard Bissen. "Without a doubt, it feels like a bomb was dropped on Lahaina."
West Maui was also identified as having the island's highest population of people living in multi-unit housing, the second-highest rate of households without a vehicle, and the highest rate of non-English speakers. Maui Fire Department Chief Brad Ventura said the fire moved so quickly from brush to neighbourhood that it was impossible to get communications to the emergency management agencies responsible for getting warnings out.
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