Maui residents had little warning before flames overtook their town. At least 55 people died
Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that warning sirens sounded before people ran for their lives from wildfires on Maui that killed at least 55 people and wiped out a historic town. Instead, officials sent alerts to mobile phones, televisions and radio stations -- but widespread power and cellular outages may have limited their reach.
Thomas Leonard, a 70-year-old retired mailman from centuries-old Lahaina, didn't know about the fire until he smelled smoke. Power and cellphone service had both gone out earlier Tuesday, leaving the town with no real-time information about the danger. The most serious one left Lahaina a grid of gray, ashen rubble, wedged between the blue ocean and lush green slopes. Skeletal remains of buildings bowed under roofs that pancaked in the blaze. Palm trees were torched, boats in the harbor were scorched and the stench of burning lingered.
Maui Fire Department Chief Brad Ventura said the fire moved so quickly from brush to neighbourhoods that it was impossible to get messages to the emergency management agencies responsible for alerts. The report also noted that West Maui had the island's second-highest rate of households without a vehicle and the highest rate of non-English speakers.
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