The Lahaina fire is not yet contained.
, at least three wildfires erupted on Maui this week, racing through parched brush covering the island.
“It is what it is,” Gilles Gerling said. “Safety was the main concern. These are all material things.” Lahaina’s wildfire risk is well known. Maui County’s hazard mitigation plan, last updated in 2020, identified Lahaina and other West Maui communities as having frequent wildfires and a large number of buildings at risk of wildfire damage.
Maui’s firefighting efforts may also have been hampered by a small staff, said Bobby Lee, president of the Hawaii Firefighters Association. There are a maximum of 65 firefighters working at any given time in the county, and they are responsible for three islands — Maui, Molokai and Lanai — he said.Those crews have about 13 fire engines and two ladder trucks, but the department does not have any off-road vehicles, he said.
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