The embattled head of the Maui Emergency Management Agency has resigned effectively immediately amid sharp critiques of his handling of the wildfire disaster. Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen made the announcement in a news release Thursday. Administrator Herman Andaya cited “health reasons” in his resignation.
In a news conference on Wednesday, he defended the decision not to activate emergency sirens in Lahaina, saying sounding the sirens would have sent people fleeing into fire. That’s even though sirens are considered “all-hazards,” including for wildfires. His decision angered people since sirens could have saved lives. His resignation leaves Maui without an emergency management head as recovery teams continue the grueling work of recovering remains from the wreckage of what was Lahaina’s historic center. So far there are 111 deaths in the disaster.
Meanwhile...
The people who run businesses that cater to tourists on Maui have pivoted to helping their neighbors in the wake of the wildfires that devastated the Hawaiian island. Axios reports that Rainbow Helicopters is delivering baby formula and other needs to displaced residents. Kaiser Permanent is running a first aid station out of a Hyatt Regency hotel. About 1,000 hotel rooms on the island have been set aside for displaced locals and emergency workers. Meanwhile, the company that produces Spam has donated 264,000 cans of it to a relief organization that is working in Maui. That's a million dollars worth of Spam. The meat product has been a staple in Hawaiin diets since it first arrived in the islands during World War II.
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