Maui Fire Department report on deadly wildfire details need for more equipment and mutual aid plans

HONOLULU– When wildfires broke out in Maui last August, some firefighters carried victims on their backs over downed power lines to a safe place and protected the survivors in their engines. Another rode a moped into a burning neighborhood again and again, taking people out of the danger zone one by one.

But despite deploying nearly all of its personnel and vehicles to the battle on August 8, 2023, the Maui Fire Department was no match for an unprecedented series of fires, including one that killed 101 people in the historic town of Lahaina, according to a newly published report.

Maui Fire Department employees “risked their lives in a courageous effort to stop the spread of the fires and save lives,” said the report, which was made public Tuesday by the Western Fire Chiefs Association, and are now “wrestling with questions about what they could do.” have done differently, a reflection that will likely last for the rest of their careers.”

It was the first of two major investigations into the deadliest US wildfires in a century released this week. Hawaii’s attorney general is expected to release the first phase of a comprehensive report on Wednesday, which will include a timeline of the 72 hours before, during and after the fire.

The department’s report details the difficulties and harrowing conditions faced by firefighters returning to the rekindling Lahaina fire, including many resources being redeployed elsewhere, structures quickly catching fire amid extreme winds and downed power lines causing the becomes difficult to move resources.

It identifies 17 specific challenges facing the department — including poorly stocked fire trucks, a lack of mutual aid agreements among Hawaii counties and limited equipment — and makes 111 recommendations to prevent similar disasters in the future.

“The worst scenario happened: the fire hydrants started losing water supply,” the authors wrote. “It is unknown whether the sheer number of burning houses caused water connections to fail or whether water tanks were not filled due to the loss of electricity in the early morning.”

The report describes a truck becoming trapped between downed lines and the rapidly approaching flames. One crew member was able to leave in a smaller vehicle and take police officers with him to evacuate the crew. They huddled on one side of the truck, one of them unconscious from a medical emergency, to avoid the extreme heat before being rescued.

According to the report, it all happened before 4:30 p.m.

“There were firefighters fighting the fires in Lahaina knowing full well their homes were on fire,” Fire Chief Brad Ventura said during a press conference in Kula on Tuesday. “There were firefighters who rescued people and kept them in their apparatus for several hours while they continued to evacuate others.”

Ventura said he was “incredibly proud” of the response, but believes the department can always improve.

One recommendation is that the department keep all backup vehicles ready for use. It took up to an hour to deploy additional engines that were on standby for major incidents because they had to be properly equipped, according to the report. The report did not say what they were missing.

The report also describes the chaos after the fire got out of control. Around 6 p.m., the report says, fire trucks drove over downed power lines to get evacuees to safety. One crew came across a couple who had found a baby, and another crew pulled people from the water near the sea wall after jumping into the ocean to avoid the flames.

The report says a repeater helped maintain radio communications even as cell towers and damage to fiber-optic cables brought down the mobile network, but were overwhelmed for “a variety” of unspecified reasons.

Other recommendations include establishing a statewide mutual aid program and an evacuation plan for residents and tourists who speak different languages.

Many of the factors that contributed to the disaster are already known: a storm that ravaged the island had downed power lines and blown off parts of roofs, and debris blocked roads in Lahaina.

Hawaiian Electric has admitted that one of its power lines fell and caused a fire in Lahaina early Aug. 8, but the utility denies that the morning fire caused the flames that swept through the city later that day.

About 40% of Maui County’s firefighting resources were already battling other wildfires on another part of the island.

A smaller fire team was tasked with tackling any outbreaks in Lahaina. That crew brought the morning fire under control and even declared it extinguished, after which they went to lunch. By the time they returned less than an hour later, the flames had erupted in the same area and quickly spread to a large subdivision.

“Our firefighters are well trained and well equipped. They are essentially forced to make decisions every day based on the best available information,” Giesa said of the crew’s departure. “It’s hindsight, but our crews did everything they normally do in a fire.”

Cell phone and internet services were also down at times in the area, making it difficult for some to call for help or get information about the fire. And emergency responders did not use Hawaii’s extensive network of emergency sirens to warn Lahaina residents. The after-action report also recommends that officials conduct an analysis of the island’s cellular system.

The high winds sometimes made it difficult for first responders to communicate on their radios, and 911 operators and emergency responders were overwhelmed with hundreds of calls.

Police and electrical crews tried to direct people away from roads partially or completely blocked by power lines. Meanwhile, people trying to flee the burning neighborhoods crowded the few thoroughfares in and outside the city.

The traffic jam left some trapped in their cars as the fire overtook them, and others who were near the ocean jumped in to escape.

The report also highlights a vulnerability rooted in the dramatic changes Maui has undergone since the arrival of Westerners and the conversion of land to pineapple and sugar plantations in the 19th century. When these were closed in the late 20th century, the vacant lands became covered with invasive grasses. That and the prolonged drought created a “volatile fuel bed” for fire, the report says.

About 3,000 properties were destroyed when the fire overtook Lahaina, causing an estimated more than $5.5 billion in damage, according to state officials.

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Boone reported from Boise, Idaho and Lauer from Philadelphia. Audrey McAvoy contributed.