Maui Emergency Management Agency Administrator Herman Andaya has made his first public comments since the deadly wildfires ignited last week.
that leveled the historic town of Lahaina and left over 100 dead last week, that official chose not to sound the alarms — a decision he is now defending.
"Had we sounded the sirens that night, we were afraid that people would have gone mauka ... and if that was the case then they would have gone into the fire," he said. Eighty outdoor sirens on the island sat silent as people fled for their lives. According to the state's government website, they can be used for a variety of natural and human caused events, including wildfires. Concerns have been mounting over why they never went off, with many Maui residents saying more people could have been saved if they had time to escape with the sirens' warning.
"In a wildland fire incident, the system has not been used, either in Maui or in other jurisdictions around the state," Andaya said.
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