Maui's Emergency Management Director Refused to Activate the Warning Sirens To Alert People During the Wildfires;
That Administrator Now Resigns

This is Democrat governance at its... most typical.

In fairness, he has something of a point. Sort of.

Maui Emergency Management Agency Administrator Herman Andaya today defended his experience and the decision not to activate emergency sirens warning Maui residents and visitors about the fast-moving fire that destroyed the historic town of Lahaina last week Tuesday.

Andaya said he did not regret his decision in response to a reporter's question. Sirens are used primarily for tsunamis, not for brushfires, he said. The public is trained to seek higher ground when the siren is sounded, he said.

"Had we sounded the siren that night, we were afraid that people would have gone mauka," he said, adding that people would have headed directly into the flames. Andaya added that there were no sirens located on the mauka or mountainside of Maui where the fires were spreading.

The problem with that claim is that no one actually goes immediately running for the hills. Usually they get into their cars, 95% of this are equipped with a piece of high-tech gear called "a radio." And on this "radio" device, they will hear "news reports" telling them that the danger is posed by wildfires, not a tsunami. And those "news reports" will mention official government guidance regarding how and where to take shelter.

The death toll of the fires is at 111 and climbing as they find more bodies.

He has now resigned.

"Today Mayor Richard Bissen accepted the resignation of Maui Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) Administrator Herman Andaya. Citing health reasons, Andaya submitted his resignation effective immediately," the County of Maui stated.

No word yet on whether the director of their water management system, who did not release water to reservoirs and did not make that water available to firefighters, will resign or if he will continue insisting that water should not be "used" but simply "revered."

posted by Ace at 01:40 PM

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