Poor communication stymied Maui's response to deadly wildfires, mayor says in state attorney general report

NBC News— On the day wildfires destroyed much of Lahaina and killed at least 101 people, poor communications between Maui’s mayor and top state and local emergency officials stymied their realization of how serious the situation was. At one point, Maui’s top emergency management official rejected an offer of additional help from Honolulu. And evidence since gathered indicates the catastrophic fire that exploded on the afternoon of Aug. 8 ignited in the same area where a downed powerline had sparked an...

The Independent—Maui officials push back on some details in Hawaii attorney general report on deadly wildfire. Maui County officials are pushing back and offering clarifications after the Hawaii attorney general's office released a report that flagged communications issues in the response to the deadly August wildfire

KHON2—Maui Mayor responds to the Wildfires report released by the AG’s Office. Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said they acted accordingly with the information they had at hand— and rejects the idea that there was a delay in the emergency response.

The Guardian—Multiple communications failures hurt emergency response to Maui wildfires – report. Western fire chiefs association details challenges faced by first responders during blazes that killed 101 peopleAs wildfires ripped across Maui last August, the head of the emergency management agency dragged his heels on returning to the island amid the unfolding crisis, while a broad communications breakdown left authorities in the dark and residents without emergency alerts, according to a report released Wednesday.Communications problems were also encountered by Hawaiian Electric, with...