Maui’s Unheeded Warnings

“No one was ready. The radio people weren’t ready, the people fleeing the fire weren’t ready. The mayor wasn’t ready. Nobody was ready,” said Linden Koshland, a senior at Berkeley High School.

 Koshland spent the later days of her summer in Lahaina, Maui. 

On Tuesday, August 8th, fires raged through the town, burning down more than 2,000 buildings and displacing about 4,500 people. Koshland was staying at her grandmother’s house when the fire erupted. In an interview, she shared that she didn’t think that Maui was prepared for the fire.

 “I don’t think they were adequately prepared in any way,” Koshland said. “There was absolutely no way to understand what was going on.” 

According to Koshland, there was insufficient aid for people fleeing the fires; there were huge lines for the grocery stores, and although some places offered shelter and food, there was not enough for the amount of people seeking relief. 

Koshland is not the only one who notices the lack of preparation for the fires. According to the New York Times, many residents of Lahaina were angry and confused about why there was a lack of early evacuations and no cell service. There was also no emergency siren, which usually indicates a natural disaster, like a tsunami. The two main roads that provided escape routes out of town were blocked because of flames and downed power lines, funneling people into a traffic jam along a coastal road.

“As for how much information we had, I would say it was close to none,” Koshland said, stating how there was no broadcast about the fire, and that the only public news outlet they could reach was a radio station. According to Koshland, the only way to get cell service was to go to the top of a coffee bean plantation, and even then, you could only get one bar. From there, Koshland called friends and family members, telling them how there was a fire, but she and her family were okay.

“[My friends] were all like, ‘Oh my god, but yeah, it was on national news.’ And we realized, like, okay, these people have more information than we do [about the fire],” Koshland said.

To Koshland and the residents of Maui, the Lahaina fire was an example of a devastating natural disaster with unlucky circumstances. In addition to the issues that arose during the fire, there were still many problems that occurred prior to it. According to the New York Times, Hawaii’s own guide to how people should respond to natural disasters did not include what to do in a wildfire. There had also been underinvestment in fire departments and prevention. A combination of these factors, plus high winds and a flammable landscape, made the situation incredibly dangerous. 

“Coming from California, where there’s a lot of awareness about fire, it was jarring to see how little preparedness there was,” Koshland stated.

She also believes that a big fire, like the one in Lahaina, was never really thought of as a threat by the residents and authorities of Maui. 

Koshland commented,“I think that shows how climate change and the way that natural disasters are shaping up differently are catching some places off guard. I think that was definitely true for Maui.”