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 12.45 pm, the fire broke out close to the Kaanapali resort area, where many Lahaina families are now staying. By 2.45 pm 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 5 pm, when the fire had been 90 percent contained. Power was restored to the area by 7 pm. 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 cellphones, 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 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.
