What went wrong in Maui? As 'cataclysmic' fires grew, many heard no warnings

Hawaii State Sen. Angus McKelvey started hearing explosions in Lahaina as he was running errands Tuesday afternoon. Hours later, he said he could see burning embers “raining down from the sky” and several homes on fire as he drove to his brother's house to check on the family pets. A nearby apartment building stood engulfed by large balls of fire and by the time he returned home, flames were lighting up his condo.

As the destruction spread, McKelvey never heard emergency sirens or alarms. He didn't see police overseeing evacuations. Like other residents trying to flee the area, he said, he was uncertain about what to do next.

For the rest of the night, McKelvey saw Lahaina, the historic tourist town he was born and raised in, erupt in flames "like a war zone."

McKelvey is part of a growing chorus of voices questioning what, if anything, went wrong in Maui in fires that have claimed at least 55 lives and destroyed about 1,700 structures. Locals are questioning whether residents were given enough notice to evacuate via sirens or other notifications as the wildfire moved through the area. There are also questions about whether the area had the proper resources to help people, including adequate firefighters.

Roughly 1,000 people remain missing, according to Maui County Police Chief John Pelletier.

"There probably should have been a more aggressive activation at the onset, more preparation," McKelvey told USA TODAY. "We heard about the red flag warning as brush fires were definitely a concern initially, not this cataclysmic totality that overwhelmed the community."

Fire weather watch was issued Sunday

The warning signs came early, McKelvey said. On Sunday, the National Weather Service in Honolulu issued a "fire weather watch" for the state after fears about Hurricane Dora soaking the area subsided. "Strong and gusty winds, combined with low humidities...may lead to critical fire conditions across leeward areas over the coming days," the watch said.

On Monday, the weather service issued "a red flag warning" as dry areas, combined with "strong and gusty easterly winds" of 30 to 45 miles per hour, with gusts up to 65 miles per hour were expected. "Any fires that develop will likely spread rapidly," officials warned.

And that's exactly what happened early Tuesday as catastrophic wildfires swept through Maui's west side fueled by intense winds with gusts as high as 80 miles per hour from Hurricane Dora.

Did warning sirens go off before the fires?

It's still unclear what steps local officials took to warn residents about the fires.

"I think this was an impossible situation," Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said on NBC's Today show Friday. "I can’t comment on whether or not the sirens sounded or not, but I know the fires came up so quickly and they spread so fast. There were some initially, when there was a smaller fire, homes were evacuated."

Hawaii Emergency Management records showed no indication that warning sirens were triggered before the fires erupted, officials told the Associated Press Thursday. Emergency Management Agency spokesperson Adam Weintraub said the department’s records don’t show Maui’s warning sirens were triggered Tuesday when the Lahaina fire began.

Instead, the county used emergency alerts sent to mobile phones, televisions and radio stations, Weintraub said.

Maui’s firefighting efforts may also have been hampered by a small staff, said Bobby Lee, the president of the Hawaii Firefighters Association. There are a maximum of 65 firefighters working at any given time in Maui County, and they are responsible for fighting fires on three islands — Maui, Molokai and Lanai — he said.

Those crews have about 13 fire engines and two ladder trucks, but the department does not have any off-road vehicles, he said. That means fire crews can’t attack brush fires thoroughly before they reach roads or populated areas.

Business owner J.D. Hessemer told CBS NEWS he evacuated before the fires hit his neighborhood, but never heard an emergency alert. "The winds were just getting out of control. Power lines were down everywhere and we had to reroute," Hessemer told "CBS Mornings" on Friday. "We just decided it was not safe to stay around for the day."

People are running out of food, fuel

Elizabeth Pickett, co-executive director of the nonprofit Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization, told the Honolulu Civil Beat this week’s fire was foreseeable.

"We keep hearing from certain elected officials and other people being quoted in the media, 'we had no idea, this is unprecedented,'" Pickett said Thursday. "But actually, those of us in the wildfire community, meaning our fire agencies, our forestry natural resource management community, we have long been working to increase our risk reduction efforts."

McKelvey said more people should have been told to leave their homes.

"I think there would’ve been a stronger urge to evacuate with some better planning. It's hard," said McKelvey.

He said there is "an urgent and desperate need" for power lines to be restored. If not, he hopes federal officials will consider bringing in mobile vans or trailers that offer temporary wireless coverage to ravaged areas as shortages of food, water and fuel grow.

"There are so many questions that need to be answered," McKelvey said. "But right now, there are a lot of people worried to death about their family members and friends who are missing and don't know if they are alive or dead."

Wildfires can be difficult hazards to predict, disaster expert says

Despite the weather service official warnings, Karl Kim, executive director for the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center at the University of Hawaii, said Thursday even he was surprised by the level of devastation and deaths from the fast-spreading wildfires in Maui.

"Even the best of us can be second-guessed by a red flag warning, not considering how that it might affect us directly," Kim said.

The wildfires occurred as Hawaii has among the largest integrated outdoor all-hazard public safety warning system in the United States. With nearly 400 sirens islandwide to alert residents of various natural disasters including hurricanes, tsunamis, flooding, volcano eruptions and earthquakes, wildfires can be difficult hazards to track, Kim said. He doesn't know if any of those sirens were triggered during the wildfires.

"Out of all of the threats, wildfires are the most difficult to predict, unlike hurricanes and volcanos, because we have much better detection alerts and warning systems in place," for those, Kim said. "A wildfire can be triggered in many different ways, by strong winds, lightning, people disposing of cigarette butts and other human causes."

He said this week's tragedy shows the need to understand the science of wildfires, as well as use technology such as costly mobile sensors that detect gas, smoke and flames, particularly in remote wildfire-prone areas. There are questions being raised on where to locate them and how to connect them to the internet or satellite communication systems.

A sensor unit that could be attached to a tree could cost around $250, Kim said. That cost, however, does not include any installation, connection service, maintenance and periodic testing.

Kim said the Maui wildfires involved a deadly combination of incredibly strong winds and "dry fuel," including brush, grass, trees and centuries-old wooden structures ranging from houses, buildings and businesses.

"The wildfire took out main sources of communications as word didn't spread fast enough by phone and other means," Kim said. "And by the time you start smelling the smoke, unfortunately, it may be a little too late. This is a harsh wake-up call."

'There's plenty of blame to go around'

Kim said while there might have been warnings about possible fire dangers, many people tend to ignore them for various reasons including longstanding tendencies that they "won't directly affect me."

Having those beliefs are not uncommon, said Tricia Wachtendorf, a sociology professor and director of the Disaster Research Center at the University of Delaware. She said many residents might have been more focused on a possible hurricane hitting the island instead of the risk of a fire danger.

"We don't associate these two types of natural hazards, in this case, a hurricane and a wildfire, as being related," Wachtendorf said.

There's a lot to learn going forward from the wildfire in terms of weather patterns, climate change and urbanization, Kim said, calling it "one of the most unprecedented disasters" in Hawaii's history.

"There's plenty of blame to go around as it would be wrong to focus narrowly on the emergency response systems due to this incredible force of nature," Kim said. "This is a signal for us to do even more work on our preparedness and improving our technology and communications systems. And above, all understanding our own behavior patterns."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.