Maui Disaster

triplets_93

triplets_93

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https://lonestar925.iheart.com/feat...is-wife-narrowly-escapes-from-the-maui-fires/

The Bo and Them Show
Michael Anthony and His Wife, Narrowly Escapes from the Maui Fires
Aug 11, 2023

Van Halen and The Circle bassist Michael Anthony and his wife Sue were vacationing on Maui when the wildfires kicked up.

They were able to get out Wednesday and return to California. He writes on social media, "So sad, and in disbelief about what is happening on Maui right now, especially in old town Lahaina! My wife Sue and I [had] been in Kaanapali the last 10 days, and we witnessed a lot of what has happened..."

And in another post he writes, "We were just at Mick Fleetwood's restaurant on Front Street having a relaxing dinner on Saturday!! Our hearts go out all our Ohana (family) on the island…"

Anthony also posted video driving Front Street in old town Lahaina, three hours before the fires started to destroy everything…"

Sammy Hagar, who lived on Maui for over 20 years, says, "There are no words to describe the heartbreak that my family and I are feeling for the people of Maui. We remain forever attached to the community.

"My deepest gratitude to our staff at Sammy’s Beach Bar & Grill, who left their own loved ones and homes, and are going above and beyond to take care of all of the people stranded at Kahului airport.
 
triplets_93

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Aug 13, 4:50 AM EDT
Death toll climbs to 93, officials say

The death toll from the fires in Maui has increased to at least 93 people, county officials said late Saturday.

-ABC News’ Victoria Arancio
 
triplets_93

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This video was taken of Front Street, Lahaina by local resident, Dan Nelson riding his bicycle, on August 10th (his Instagram: Haoledan).

 
triplets_93

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With some 1,300 people still missing following destructive wildfires on Maui, the death toll is expected to rise in the coming days. "CBS Evening News" anchor and managing editor Norah O'Donnell reports on the devastation and recovery from Maui.

 
triplets_93

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I have a suggestion for issuing the placards for access to Lahaina. Have those wanting placards to come to a large parking lot somewhere. Have someone screen them to see if they qualify, and put them on a bus to be taken to a county site for the placards to be issued.

That way there is no hub-bub at the county site. Just authorized applicants. Get some of the National Guard to oversee this. I think this would work, and be orderly.

The county has seen what doesn't work. Now try something that does.
 
VaqueroTD

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Some of the stories about the last second decisions people had to make which determined whether or not they lived are rough. If they picked the wrong escape road, they died. Read about a family with six labradors, three black, three white. They had to flee from their car and could not see the black dogs in the smoke. The white dog made it with them, the black dogs didn’t. As a lifelong big dog owner, that one kills me.
 
triplets_93

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Surfer Kai Lenny slams government response after devastating Maui wildfires: "Where are they?"

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/maui-wildfires-surfer-kai-lenny/

Kai Lenny, a professional surfer and a Maui local, has stepped up in the aftermath of devastating wildfires as frustrations mount over what many residents believe is an inadequate government response. He is leading one of many citizen-run recovery efforts on the island, saying people in the fire zone have told him they haven't seen a government employee in days.

He told CBS News that "some of us ... were kinda sitting back, waiting for help to arrive, and then nothing was sorta happening."

"We were just in shock," he said.

People contacted Lenny, citing a lack of help in their areas. He said he received texts and messages from friends asking if he could help, which led to his "boots on the ground" effort — bringing supplies to those in need with the goal of holding friends and family over until "the caravan arrives with everything."

"And it was just like, day after day, 'Where are they?'" he said.

"I haven't seen one state, one county, one federal official at any one of the donation hubs where people are most suffering," he said. "People are sleeping in their cars. People are asking for specific items now."

Lenny likened the west side of Maui to "a third-world country" and said locals there say no one has come to help them.

"The Hawaiian people, the locals that have lived here, they just always feel like they're the last to be thought of. And they're like, the foundation of it," he said.

Lenny said volunteers, some of whom lost their own homes and loved ones, have worked day and night at shelters and distribution centers.

"I wonder if the state, county, they believe we're doing such a good job, they don't need to step in," he said. "But a lot of these volunteers have been going all day, all night for five, six days now and are exhausted and are waiting for a handoff, or at least a break."
 
VaqueroTD

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triplets_93 said:
Click to expand...

Yep, they are in trouble for sure. It's a complicated situation, but I'm sure we'll see more details come out of the investigations and lawsuits.

For me, it's tough to fault the power company for not being fully ready for hurricane winds. That's most of the islands. They've been lucky and missed a lot of big storms. If you go further west towards Asia, it's a different ballgame with Class 5 Typhoons, and concrete houses and power poles in some of the wealthier islands.

It's no different than other U.S. examples with New Orleans and Miami not being ready for their big storms. But this is a weird situation. I don't think many people associate hurricane winds with dry conditions, or large forest fires with tropical islands. Reports are that California had some new local laws for this, and even though Hawaii likes to copy a lot of California Law, I could see this being a tough sell. Plus, you have science issues like dry vegetation covering the island that is not native, possible climate change implications, and other issues that are difficult to weigh or explain. Sounds like there was a report that warned about it, but the tragedy with most disasters, natural and man-made, is that there was a report for all of them. There was a CIA agent who predicted 9/11, there were many people who predicted the New Orleans levee collapses, and in an example of local buy-in working, the tsunami defense system in Hawaii is impressive. You have to sell the threat, explain the cost-benefit, and the food chain has to buy in all the way to the top where it gets approved.

Main thing I would check is if people properly enforced and complied with any mandates that WERE set up to prevent this - from power company to hurricane wind preparation to fire fighter operations. One thing I noticed in my experience working there was that government regulators were extremely lax, more of a "who you know" system than anything else. That's normal though for most islands.
 

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Saw a report where an idiot government official refused to allow water to be used to fight the fire because of a supposed need to conserve it.
 
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