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Re: As Maui burned, Hawaii's top emergency management officials were jacking off at a Waikiki conference
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byte detective
Sep 2, 2023, 3:28:16 AM9/2/23
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On 07 Jun 2023, Adam Cartwright <now...@protonmail.com> posted some
news:u5ptq4$14ib7$5...@dont-email.me:
> They were practicing sticking their heads up each other's ass.
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - As the wildfire in Lahaina spread, the
Pacific’s top disaster management leaders were together with many of
Hawaii’s emergency officials at a meeting on Oahu educating them about
how to respond in crisis situations, FEMA confirms to HNN.
The revelation is the latest twist in the ongoing effort to determine
how Maui emergency management officials responded to the wildfires on
Aug. 8, as thousands were in the crosshairs of an inferno that claimed
the town of Lahaina and more than 100 lives.
Gina Lawless lost her home to the flames and is among those who want
answers.
“So many people that I know say we never knew. We never knew anything
about the fire,” she said.
HNN Investigates has learned that on Aug. 8, the day of the wildfire,
several of the nation’s top emergency management officials were in
Hawaii hosting an annual conference. Those attending were quite
literally the who’s who of disaster response locally and across the
Pacific.
They were gathered in Waikiki for an annual FEMA disaster meeting, a
half-hour plane ride away from a wildfire that would become the
deadliest in the United States in more than a century.
The agenda listed 74 attendees at this year’s Pacific Partnership
Meeting including FEMA leadership and several members of the Center for
Homeland Defense and Security.
HNN confirmed the now-former head of Maui Emergency Management Agency —
Herman Andaya — was also on hand along with as many as six state
emergency management leaders, including Director Kenneth Hara,
administrator James Barros and executive officer Don Aweau.
In an email, a state emergency management spokesperson said those
officials were part of a “coordinating call about 11 a.m.” to discuss
multiple wildfires that had sparked on Big Island and Maui. That
spokesperson went on to say that HIEMA personnel were updated throughout
the day.
FEMA confirmed the fires were part of discussions during the conference.
“There were consultations about the fires among local, state and FEMA
participants,” said FEMA spokesperson John Mills.
HNN asked both Maui County and the state who was left in charge while
those local emergency officials attended the meeting and what time they
were made aware of the catastrophe unfolding in Lahaina. Despite
multiple requests, those questions remains unanswered.
Meanwhile, many who experienced the horror of that day first-hand say
government failed them by not sounding the emergency sirens.
“It’s inexcusable,” Lawless said. “A lot of people probably could have
gotten out.”
HNN Investigates confirmed Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, acting governor that
day, authorized an initial emergency proclamation for the multiple fires
that were burning on Maui and Big Island.
That proclamation was issued at 3:21 p.m. that Tuesday. It’s still
unclear when Andaya and Hara left the meeting to respond to the
emergency. A state spokesperson said that Barros and Aweau returned to
the state’s Emergency Operations Center a little after 5 p.m. on Aug. 8.
https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2023/08/23/disaster-response-conference-wen
t-with-hawaiis-top-emergency-officials-there-maui-burned/
news:u5ptq4$14ib7$5...@dont-email.me:
> They were practicing sticking their heads up each other's ass.
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - As the wildfire in Lahaina spread, the
Pacific’s top disaster management leaders were together with many of
Hawaii’s emergency officials at a meeting on Oahu educating them about
how to respond in crisis situations, FEMA confirms to HNN.
The revelation is the latest twist in the ongoing effort to determine
how Maui emergency management officials responded to the wildfires on
Aug. 8, as thousands were in the crosshairs of an inferno that claimed
the town of Lahaina and more than 100 lives.
Gina Lawless lost her home to the flames and is among those who want
answers.
“So many people that I know say we never knew. We never knew anything
about the fire,” she said.
HNN Investigates has learned that on Aug. 8, the day of the wildfire,
several of the nation’s top emergency management officials were in
Hawaii hosting an annual conference. Those attending were quite
literally the who’s who of disaster response locally and across the
Pacific.
They were gathered in Waikiki for an annual FEMA disaster meeting, a
half-hour plane ride away from a wildfire that would become the
deadliest in the United States in more than a century.
The agenda listed 74 attendees at this year’s Pacific Partnership
Meeting including FEMA leadership and several members of the Center for
Homeland Defense and Security.
HNN confirmed the now-former head of Maui Emergency Management Agency —
Herman Andaya — was also on hand along with as many as six state
emergency management leaders, including Director Kenneth Hara,
administrator James Barros and executive officer Don Aweau.
In an email, a state emergency management spokesperson said those
officials were part of a “coordinating call about 11 a.m.” to discuss
multiple wildfires that had sparked on Big Island and Maui. That
spokesperson went on to say that HIEMA personnel were updated throughout
the day.
FEMA confirmed the fires were part of discussions during the conference.
“There were consultations about the fires among local, state and FEMA
participants,” said FEMA spokesperson John Mills.
HNN asked both Maui County and the state who was left in charge while
those local emergency officials attended the meeting and what time they
were made aware of the catastrophe unfolding in Lahaina. Despite
multiple requests, those questions remains unanswered.
Meanwhile, many who experienced the horror of that day first-hand say
government failed them by not sounding the emergency sirens.
“It’s inexcusable,” Lawless said. “A lot of people probably could have
gotten out.”
HNN Investigates confirmed Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, acting governor that
day, authorized an initial emergency proclamation for the multiple fires
that were burning on Maui and Big Island.
That proclamation was issued at 3:21 p.m. that Tuesday. It’s still
unclear when Andaya and Hara left the meeting to respond to the
emergency. A state spokesperson said that Barros and Aweau returned to
the state’s Emergency Operations Center a little after 5 p.m. on Aug. 8.
https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2023/08/23/disaster-response-conference-wen
t-with-hawaiis-top-emergency-officials-there-maui-burned/
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