Updating Maui County’s 15-year-old emergency operations plan, clarifying responsibilities and improving communications during a disaster were among the 44 recommendations made by the Maui Emergency Management Agency’s after-action report from the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfires, which killed 102 people and left thousands homeless.
The report was done by Denver-based contractor AC Disaster Consulting, in partnership with Emergent Global Solutions, for $88,000.
The 17 observations and 44 recommendations are based on more than 40 interviews, document reviews and an interagency after-action meeting.
“We’re much more prepared. I’m a kind of worst-case scenario kind of guy. … There is always room for improvement,” MEMA Administrator Amos Lonokailua-Hewett told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in an interview. “We are definitely more prepared to address a similar situation. The fire that happened in 2023 challenged every system, every resource in the county. MEMA needs to have the capacity to surge and meet that demand when it is needed.”
Twenty-six of Hewett’s family members lost homes on Aug. 8, 2023, he said. Some are still struggling with the costs of rebuilding and how to “afford homes, afford mortgages.”
“That struggle is ongoing. We find ways to resolve it together, but it is a struggle and the future is uncertain,” said Hewett, who followed his faith and prayer to conquer colon cancer in 2018 before coming out of retirement to serve as MEMA administrator.
Hewett, who took over MEMA in January 2024, was a battalion chief with the Maui Department of Fire and Public Safety during the August 2018 Lahaina wildfire.
That blaze, fueled by 70 mph gusts from Hurricane Lane, burned 2,000 acres in Lahaina and destroyed 30 vehicles and 21 structures, most of them homes.
Due to ongoing litigation sparked by those fires, county officials have remained silent about specifically how and what they changed in the aftermath of the 2018 fires before the blazes of August 2023.
Hewett said unlike the Aug. 8, 2023, Lahaina fires, the 2018 blaze started in a valley and gave first responders time to marshal resources, increase staffing and coordinate response.
In August 2018, unlike August 2023, utility poles or trees downed by high winds did not block evacuation routes, he said, and the conditions controlling the fire’s spread were different.
“I did not have evacuation problems like 2023. The fire location was far away (from Lahaina), (we) had time to organize resources. The potential for fire spread was greater in 2023,” Hewett said.
The report released Friday focused on “immediate response and incident stabilization efforts” of MEMA under the leadership of former Administrator Herman Andaya and the County Emergency Operations Center from Aug. 7 to 11, 2023.
“By integrating insights from these efforts, we have developed a well-rounded, data-driven understanding of the County’s emergency response performance,” said Erica Bornemann, AC Disaster Consulting vice president of planning and risk reduction, in a statement. “The After-Action Review highlights key strengths, identifies areas for improvement and provides actionable recommendations to enhance emergency management efforts throughout Maui County.”
The documents examined included incident action plans, situation reports and associated records, and were “analyzed to evaluate decision-making, coordination, and communication.”
The contractors interviewed “personnel currently employed and previously employed at MEMA, other county departments, and NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) that participated in the response.”
“A comprehensive approach to augmenting staffing, establishing precise planning and communication processes, strengthening resource management, and formalizing continuity planning would address many observed gaps in current emergency management practices,” read the report. “The recommendations contained in this AAR aim to ensure that MEMA has sufficient, trained personnel to manage emergency operations efficiently and effectively. Increased staffing would support MEMA’s ability to execute planning, resource management, and communication with precision, leading to more effective emergency management across the County.”
The findings urged county officials to complete the transition from the “outdated” emergency operations plan from 2010 to a Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan and to clarify “county roles and responsibilities in alignment with the National Incident Management System, the Emergency Management Standard, and national best practices.”
That transition and updated emergency operation plans, five-year strategic plans, policies and procedures will be publicized in the coming months, according to county officials.
MEMA more than doubled in size to 22 full-time positions from nine, and recruitment to ensure 100% staffing levels continues, as does the creation of nine reserve support staff positions. Officials are identifying teams of emergency responders in every county department and training reserve staff who can step up in an emergency.
The county’s emergency response in August 2023 was further complicated by the fact that emergency operations center staff were “learning and creating essential procedures and reporting protocols” while actively responding to the Maui wildfires.
“Some EOC staff indicated that they had no prior experience with EOC activations before responding to the Maui wildfires,” read the report. “The interviews revealed that a limited understanding of the EOC’s functions led people to gather there unnecessarily, which increased confusion about the facility’s purpose. Interviewees noted that they were unfamiliar with the resource request process and had to navigate reporting requirements in real-time, which added stress and increased the potential for errors.”
In addition to “procedural knowledge gaps,” interview feedback illustrated that “paper-based incident command forms” were often used instead of available digital systems, like incident management software systems like WebEOC or damage assessment software platforms like Crisis Track.
“Utilizing digital incident management systems is an industry standard for EOCs and is designed to centralize disaster management and streamline reporting. MEMA is currently in the process of implementing WebEOC, but it was not utilized consistently during this response,” the report noted. “The inconsistent use of these digital tools in the EOC led to multiple people submitting resource request forms without a clear understanding of necessary follow-up actions.”
The loss of telephone and internet services threw the Aug. 8, 2023, response into chaos, and hardening digital and radio communications must be a priority moving forward.
MDFPS, the Maui Police Department and other first responders use separate public safety radio systems. Representatives from each agency are assigned to the EOC in a disaster to help coordinate communications and response.
As traditional (communication) channels failed, “misinformation increased, complicating the efforts to convey accurate and timely information.”
“County Communications’ response included a myth-busting social media campaign to counteract false information circulating among residents. However, the reliance on social media as a primary information source was challenged by the infiltration of external disinformation campaigns, including the spread of rumors via social media platforms,” read the findings. “Social media influencers and traditional journalists helped to combat misinformation. This situation highlighted the critical need for a more robust and reliable information dissemination strategy that can effectively combat misinformation while ensuring that the community receives accurate updates.”
The state Department of the Attorney General’s investigation of government’s response to the fires began Aug. 11, 2023, and ended Jan. 14 without any criminal charges being brought.
State officials have said Hawaii does not have any criminal statutes applicable to what happened in West Maui on Aug. 8, 2023.
A $4 billion global agreement was announced in August to settle the hundreds of lawsuits filed against Hawaiian Electric, Maui County, the state, large landowners and other defendants by victims’ families, survivors, property owners and other plaintiffs.
