Hawaii Wildfires: AG Subpoenas 3 Maui Agencies

Facts

• Coming roughly four months after a series of wildfires in Maui, Hawaii, killed at least 100 people and displaced thousands of others, the state's Attorney General Anne Lopez announced Monday that she subpoenaed the Maui Emergency Management Agency (EMA), the County of Maui Department of Public Works (DPW) and the County of Maui Department of Water Supply (DWS).¹
• As the first phase of her investigation involves identifying where the fire broke out and a timeline of its spread, Lopez's office said the subpoenas will allow the 'timely' collection of facts. The office also said that investigators at the Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI), which Lopez hired, are still lacking 'critical facts' from 'several key stakeholders.'²
• Though he stepped down from the position a few days after the fires, citing health reasons, Lopez has also requested records of all communications to and from the former head of the EMA, Herman Andaya, from 8 p.m. on Aug. 7 — the evening before the fires — through Aug. 10. Andaya faced criticism for not sounding the county's emergency sirens that many think could have saved lives.³
• Lopez, who previously said she hoped state and local employees would 'voluntarily participate' in her investigation, said Monday that her office 'continues to aggressively push the first phase of the independent investigation,' with testimony from the agencies expected Dec. 11.¹
• Mayor Richard Bissen's office said that of the 80 items requested, 32 have been submitted, 20 are pending,12 still need to be cleared by the US Department of Homeland Security, and the rest are 'not under the custodianship or jurisdiction of the County' or are 'pending further clarification from the State' and the FSRI.²
• A spokesman for the attorney general's office said the probe is a review of the fires and their response but confirmed that there are currently no criminal investigations.³

Sources: ¹FOX News, ²Honolulu Civil Beat and ³NBC.

Narratives

• Democratic narrative, as provided by The Guardian. This entire tragedy needs to be reviewed from top to bottom, but that doesn't mean that local, state, or federal government agencies are specifically at fault for this. As Hawaii and its citizens work to rebuild their lives and communities and better prepare their institutions for future disasters, everyone from lawmakers to private companies and volunteers needs to continue to put money in the hands of these victims and work to enact policies to end the destruction of burning fossil fuels.
• Republican narrative, as provided by Human Events. Even if climate change played some type of role in these wildfires, the fact that emergency agencies failed so miserably in a state that faces natural disasters all the time — from Tsunamis to hurricanes to volcanic eruptions — should raise everyone's eyebrows. Police barricades blocked certain people from fleeing communities; the Department of Land and Natural Resources delayed the release of water; and the emergency alert system only sent alert texts to some communities. That is beyond negligent, and people need to be held responsible.

Predictions