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With wildfires ravaging West Maui on Aug. 8, a state water official delayed the release of water that landowners wanted to help protect their property from fires. The water standoff played out over much of the day and the water didn’t come until too late.

The dispute involved the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ water resource management division and West Maui Land Co., which manages agricultural and residential subdivisions in West Maui as well as Launiupoko Irrigation Co., Launiupoko Water Co., Olowalu Water Co. and Ha’iku Town Water Association.

DLNR delayed releasing water requested by West Maui Land Co. to help prevent the spread of fire, sources familiar with the situation said.

Specifically, according to accounts of four people with knowledge of the situation, M. Kaleo Manuel, a Native Hawaiian cultural practitioner and DLNR’s deputy director for water resource management, initially balked at West Maui Land Co.’s requests for additional water to help prevent the fire from spreading to properties managed by the company.

According to the sources, Manuel wanted West Maui Land to get permission from a taro, or kalo, farm located downstream from the company’s property. Manuel eventually released water but not until after the fire had spread. It was not clear on Monday how much damage the fire did in the interim or whether homes were damaged.

Manuel declined to be interviewed for this story. DLNR’s communications office said in an email that it was supporting the state’s emergency communications response and “unable to facilitate your inquiry at this time.”

....

In 2022, two Maui senators, Gil Keith-Agaran and Lynne DeCoite, introduced a measure to push DLNR to allow fresh water to be used to fight fires and pointed to West Maui as being particularly vulnerable.

The bill noted that “in 2019, West Maui suffered from an active fire season in which wildfires scorched twenty-five thousand acres of land.” It would have required DLNR to “cooperate with the counties and reservoir owners to develop protocols and agreements for the use of reservoir waters for fire safety purposes.”

Specifically, the measure said, “The protocols and agreements shall address the emergency use of reservoir waters for prevention, control, and extinguishment of fires while taking into account the various competing uses of reservoir waters.”

The bill died without a hearing.

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A delay in state permission to use West Maui stream water may have led to hampering firefighters in their battle to save Lahaina town from last week’s horrific wildfire.

On the day after the fire, the West Maui Land Co. Inc. sent a letter to Deputy Director M. Kaleo Manuel of the Hawaii Commission on Water Resource Management, or CWRM, describing the events and communication problems that resulted in delaying the diversion of streams to fill reservoirs with water being made available to fight the fire.

Glenn Tremble, an executive with West Maui Land, declined to comment on his letter Tuesday, but a copy was obtained by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

According to the letter, although the initial fire was contained at 9 a.m., there were reports of fallen power lines, fierce winds, outages and low reservoir levels, prompting the company to reach out to the commission to request approval to divert more water from streams so it could store as much water as possible for fire control.

Instead of approving the request, CWRM asked the company whether the Maui Fire Department had requested permission to dip into the reservoirs and directed it to first inquire with the downstream user to ensure that his loi and other uses would not be impacted by a temporary reduction of water supply.

Communications were spotty, the letter said, and the company had already tried unsuccessfully to contact the one downstream user.

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The head of Maui's Emergency Management Agency resigned on Thursday night, citing 'health reasons'.

It comes a day after Chief Herman Andaya faced fierce backlash by saying he did not regret not activating warning sirens as the wildfire swept across the island.

Andaya said he opted to send out alerts via mobile devices, radio waves, television and the county's opt-in resident alert system - but not via siren.

Despite the claim the warning sirens could have saved hundreds of people, Andaya argued the systems are generally used for tsunami warnings and Hawaiians are trained to seek higher ground when they go off, which would have led them toward the blazing inferno.

It has since emerged that the official has a history of downplaying the importance of the island's siren systems.

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Let water connect us, and not divide us. Like we can share it, but it requires true conversations about equity.

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water standoff played out over much of the day and the water didn’t come until too late.

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‘Climate change’ is the dumbest possible explanation for the Maui disaster. And on the other hand,

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‘Climate change’ is the dumbest possible explanation for the Maui disaster. And on the other hand,

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Originally posted by sjtill:
I heard a lecture once about aircraft safety and causes of crashes.
The theme was the "Swiss cheese theory": disasters happen usually not because of one failure, but the "lining up" of numerous failures.

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Originally posted by YooperSigs:
Just saw a plea on the TV asking for donations for Maui.
Then it struck me that all the $$$ we sent to Ukraine would sure go a long way to help these people.

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Originally posted by corsair:
Since Manuel is such an enthusiast for Hawaiian culture and beliefs, he can offer himself up to be sacrificed, as that also common practice for idiots and violators. I'm sure there's more than a few volunteers from Maui who'd gladly club this guy.

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The head of Maui’s Emergency Management Agency stepped down Thursday — just one day after he defended his controversial decision not to activate the island-wide alarm system as devastating wildfires ripped across the island.

Chief Herman Andaya handed in his resignation, citing “health reasons,” according to Mayor Richard Bissen.

His departure is effective immediately, meaning the top spot for the emergency department will be vacant as the decimated island grapples with the aftermath of the inferno that killed at least 111 people....

... “Even if we sounded the siren, we would not have saved those people out there on the mountainside,” Andaya said.

He also defended his professional record, telling reporters he was thoroughly vetted and heavily trained before taking the lead role in 2017...

...Andaya does not, however, have any direct experience in emergency management other than coordinating with the agency during his tenure in the housing department and as a staffer in the mayor’s cabinet.