Aerial view of a residential area in February shows progress in debris removal from the wildfire that swept much of Lahaina on August 8, 2023.
ANDREW VLIET, CONTRIBUTOR TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER Clearing of the wildfire that destroyed much of Lahaina on August 8, 2023, becomes more apparent when viewed from above a residential area in February.
The after-action report of the Maui Emergency Management Agency on the wildfires of August 8, 2023, which claimed 102 lives and left many people homeless, included 44 recommendations aimed at updating the county's emergency operations plan to define roles more clearly and improve communication in times of disaster.
It was prepared by AC Disaster Consulting, a Denver-based contractor, and Emergent Global Solutions, in little less than $88,000.
The 17 observations and 44 recommendations arise from more than 40 interviews, document analyses, and a teaming after-action meeting with several agencies.
We are much better prepared now. I like to think in terms of worst-case scenarios, said Amos Lonokailua-Hewett, administrator of MEMA, in an interview with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. We are definitely more ready to deal with a similar situation. The 2023 fire tested all systems and resources in the county. When the need arises, MEMA has to be able to respond quickly and efficiently.
According to Hewett, on August 8, 2023, twenty-six of his family members lost their homes. Many are still facing challenges related to the expenses of rebuilding and figuring out how to afford homes, afford mortgages.
"The battle goes on. We join forces to seek answers but it's still tough and tomorrow is a mystery," said Hewett, who leaned on his religion and prayers to beat colon cancer in 2018 and then came back from retirement to take on the job of MEMA head.
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A battalion chief with the Maui Department of Fire and Public Safety during the Lahaina wildfire in August 2018, Hewett assumed leadership of MEMA in January 2024.
Fueled by 70 mph winds from Hurricane Lane, the fire spread over 2,000 acres in Lahaina and led to the destruction of 30 vehicles and 21 buildings, most of them residences.
County officials will not reveal what changes they made in response to the 2018 fires before the August 2023 blazes because they are currently suing over those incidents.
Hewett pointed out that, unlike the Lahaina fires on August 8, 2023, the 2018 fire started in a valley; this meant first responders could gather resources, increase personnel, and organize their response effectively.
He highlighted that in August 2018, evacuation routes were not blocked by fallen utility poles or trees due to high winds, unlike in August 2023. Also, the factors influencing the spread of fire were different.
I did not face evacuation problems like we faced in 2023. The fire was located far from Lahaina, allowing us plenty of time to gather resources. Hewett indicated that the fire risk was much greater in 2023.
It detailed the "immediate response and incident stabilization efforts" by MEMA, former Administrator Herman Andaya's leadership, and the County Emergency Operations Center for the period of August 7 to 11, 2023.
"Integrating results from these projects has enabled us to develop a holistic, information-based view regarding the effectiveness of emergency response in the County," said Erica Bornemann, who holds the position of vice president in planning and risk reduction at AC Disaster Consulting. "The After-Action Review highlights key strengths, identifies opportunities for improvement, and provides actionable recommendations for enhancing emergency management practices throughout Maui County."
Documents reviewed include Incident Action Plans, Situation Reports, and related records which were “reviewed to assess decision-making, coordination, and communication functions during the response.”
The contractors interviewed employees of MEMA, both past and present, as well as other county departmental staff and non-governmental organization partners who contributed to the response work.
It was reported that "In order to remedy most of the glaring faults in the present emergency management practices, there should be a comprehensive strategy that includes provision for staffing, clear planning and communication procedures, resource management improvement, and continuity planning formalization." It explains, "the recommendations of this AAR should ensure that MEMA has a sufficient number of trained personnel to handle emergency operations efficiently and effectively. Increasing the staffing levels will allow planning to be done further manage resources, and communicate accurately which will lead to better emergency management for the County."
The results recommended that county leaders complete the transition of the old 2010 emergency operations plan to a Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan and also outline the roles and responsibilities of the county per the National Incident Management System, Emergency Management Standard, and established national best practices.
It has been stated by county officials that the revised plans for emergency operations, strategic plans covering five years, and associated policies and procedures will be unveiled to the public within the next few months.
MEMA has grown its workforce to 22 full-time positions from 9, more than doubling in size. Efforts are ongoing to maintain 100% staffing levels, along with the establishment of 9 reserve support staff roles. Officials are working to identify emergency response teams within each county department and training reserve staff to be ready to assist during emergencies.
In August 2023, it was even more difficult to respond to emergencies by the county because staff at the emergency operations center were developing and learning key procedures and reporting norms dealing with the wildfires in Maui.
Some EOC staff members had never experienced EOC activations prior to their response to the Maui wildfires. This was revealed through interviews, as assembling at the EOC unnecessarily because of lack of understanding about how the EOC functions led to greater confusion about what the facility was supposed to be used for. Those who participated in the interview made known their unfamiliarity with the resource request process and that they had to manage reporting obligations on the fly which made things much more stressful and increased the likelihood of error.
Along with the gaps in knowledge of procedures, responses from interviews captured how incident command forms were much more paper-based than digital based despite the availability of software applications for incident management, such as WebEOC and digital damage assessment applications, such as Crisis Track.
Digital incident management systems have become the norm for Emergency Operations Centers and will aim to centralize disaster management while simplistically reporting. MEMA is in the process of adopting WebEOC per the report; it was not used consistently during the response. The digital tools in the EOC were not applied consistently, leading to many people submitting resource request forms with no real understanding of what follow-up should involve.
Services of t͏elephone and internet were severely disrupted on August 8, 2023, which added major chaos into the response efforts and underlined the future need to focus on bolstering digital and radio communications.
Maui Police Department MDFPS, and other first responders have separate public safety radio systems. During a disaster, reps from each agency are assigned to the Emergency Operations Center EOC to help coordinate communications and responses.
With traditional communication channels broken down, that led to the rise of misinformation, it became even harder to share accurate and timely information.
The reply from County Communications included a social media plan that tried to shut myths and deal with the false information spread͏ing among residents. However, the large need on social media as a main source of information faced troubles because of the meddling of outside false information efforts, which included the spreading of rumors by use of social media channels, as seen in the findings. To fight wrong information, both social media stars and old-school reporters helped much. This situation showed the important need for a better and trustful way of sharing news that can help with false info while giving the community clear updates on what is happening.
The probe by the state Attorney General's Department investigates how the gov't responded to fires that began on August 11, 2023, and ended on January 14, with no criminal charges filed.
That's because, according to state officials, there are no criminal laws in Hawaii that would apply to what happened in West Maui on August 8, 2023.
In August, a $4 billion international settlement was unsealed to quash the myriad suits filed by families of victims, survivors, property owners, and other claimants against Hawaiian Electric, Maui County, the state, major landowners, and other parties.
