The Maui Residents Who Ignored Official Instructions Are the Ones Who Survived
As reports continue to trickle in about the devastation and destruction wrought upon Hawaii by wildfires, one report has separated itself by asking a simple, haunting question:
Just how badly did Hawaii officials bungle evacuation efforts?
A harrowing report from The Associated Press suggests that those efforts were bungled rather badly, given the people who survived the Maui wildfires by not listening to the government.
One grim example provided by the AP involves a road blockade that was restricting residents from fleeing the fires via Highway 30.
“One family swerved around the barricade and was safe in a nearby town 48 minutes later, another drove their 4-wheel-drive car down a dirt road to escape,” the AP reported. “One man took an dirt road uphill, climbing above the fire and watching as Lahaina burned.”
But those who followed government orders and adhered to these blockades?
“But dozens of others found themselves caught in a hellscape, their cars jammed together on a narrow road, surrounded by flames on three sides and the rocky ocean waves on the fourth,” the AP noted. “Some died in their cars, while others tried to run for safety.”
The AP spoke to one local resident who described a scene straight out of a movie:
“I could see from the bypass that people were stuck on the balconies, so I went down and checked it out,” Kekoa Lansford told the AP.
Was the Maui fire mishandled by government officials?
He added: “And I could see that people were on fire, that the fire was just being stoked by the wind, and being pushed toward the homes.”
The AP reported that these road closures were explained away by the government as an attempt to stop the fires and protect citizens from downed power lines.
And if these blockade snafus were the only gaffe in evacuation and recovery efforts, perhaps you chalk it up as an overwhelmed government making a mistake, and move on.
But this is hardly the first time that Hawaii leadership has been placed under a microscope with regard to these devastating Maui wildfires, which have claimed over 100 lives.
Perhaps most notably, local state official Kaleo Manuel has come under intense criticism after he reportedly delayed sending water to help combat the wildfires.
In a separate incident, Hawaii state officials were again taken to the woodshed when it was revealed that not a single one of Maui’s 80 warning sirens went off as the fire raged.
Worse yet, there are also growing reports and theories that Hawaii officials knew Maui was turning into kindling — and did nothing about it.
Compounding matters for the local Hawaiians, they are not receiving much from the federal government either at the moment.
President Joe Biden’s visit to the ravaged island of Maui has been disastrous for the incumbent president, with the local residents letting him know as much.
Finally, when local Hawaiians aren’t worrying about the lack of support from the government, they’ve expressed concerns that “vultures” are circling, looking to swoop in and gobble up that razed land.
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