(CN) — An independent report released Tuesday stresses the need for Hawaii to staff the newly established Office of State Fire Marshal in the wake of the the 2023 wildfire that destroyed most of the historic Maui town of Lahaina.
The report is the third and final one commissioned by the Hawaii Department of the Attorney General and prepared by the Fire Safety Research Institute to look into the causes of the deadliest wildfire in the U.S. in the past 100 years and to make recommendations to prevent similar tragedies.
Whereas the first two reports that were released last year provided a timeline of the fire and the underlying conditions that allowed it to destroy more than 2,000 structures and kill 102 people, Tuesday’s report focuses on steps the Hawaii and local government can take mitigate the risks from future wildfires.
“Our objective in the Phase Three report is to provide the state of Hawaii and the county of Maui with a clear roadmap to initiate progress,” Steve Kerber, executive director and vice president of the Fire Safety Research Institute, said in a statement. “The state, counties, and the community now have the blueprint for the critical first steps necessary to establish a solid foundation for improving fire safety across Hawaii.”
The report provides a prioritized list of 10 steps for both the state and Hawaii’s counties to improve their response to wildfires.
The first priority for the state is to require Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural, Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife, Building Code Council and other state agencies to prepare preliminary action plans for addressing the findings and recommendations from last year’s analysis of the wildfire in so far as it pertains to their areas of responsibility.
Since there is no currently appointed fire marshal in Hawaii, the researchers recommended that the state works with the nonprofit Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization to coordinate and lead the various departments’ preparations of these action plans.
Hawaii Governor Josh Green in July signed into law a bill that established the Office of the State Fire Marshall and re-established the position of state fire marshal that had been abolished in 1979 and replaced with that of state fire chief.
The report’s second priority is to appoint a fire marshal and to hire staff for the newly created office.
“The recruitment and hiring of the [state fire marshal] should include a project plan with tasks, task owners, completion timelines, and other components of a well-developed work plan that ensures efficiency and accountability,” the researchers said.
The emergency response to the firestorm has been heavily criticized, and many have claimed that Maui County officials’ delayed response contributed to the deadliness of the fire. Green ordered an investigation into the fires and the emergency response in the days after the blaze.
Lahaina survivors reported that the state’s emergency sirens never sounded and that they received minimal warnings about the fires. Maui County had instead released alerts on phones and television, services that were affected by the fires at the time.
Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen — a former Maui Circuit Court judge in his first term as mayor — has faced backlash for his abrupt responses to questions about the county’s emergency procedures and refusing to clarify his and other officials’ timelines during the fires.
The head of the Maui Emergency Management Agency resigned in August after publicly saying he had no regrets for not sounding the sirens. State and county officials have sidestepped questions about why the sirens were not sounded and why Bissen’s administration did not immediately call for state assistance.
Hawaiian Electric, the island’s power utility, has weathered a heavy dose of the blame, with at least 10 lawsuits filed since the fire — including one by Maui County — claiming that the utility kept their power lines activated during the heavy winds, sparking the fire and contributing to the spread of the blaze.
The destruction and loss of life caused by the Maui fires of August 8-9, 2023, were unprecedented in modern times, the researchers with the Fire Safety Research Institute concluded, and involved many contributing factors.
“It is vital to reiterate,” the researchers said, “that no single factor is, or set of factors are, directly responsible for the tragic outcome.”
“The pre-conditions for these fires have been in the making for decades, stemming from the changing landscape of Maui Nui, more frequent extreme weather events, and the increased frequency of vegetation-fueled fires,” they added. “It is important to note these same conditions exist across the state of Hawaii, in numerous other locations throughout the United States, and around the globe.”