People trying to flee the Maui wildfires were left with only one way out after local officials mistakenly closed several roads, a BBC investigation has found.
Access to the main highway in the city of Lahaina was cut off and police directed people to a single escape route to the south: a highway along the ocean, where traffic was at a standstill during the peak of the fire, police revealed. station. .
At least 99 people died in the August wildfire, which was the deadliest in modern U.S. history.
The two main roads run mostly perpendicular to each other with a residential area in between, while Lahainaluna Road runs through that town and connects it to both roads.
On the afternoon of August 8, those attempting to flee the flames by taking the Lahainaluna Highway found their way blocked to two key southern escape routes: the Honoapiʻilani Highway and the Lahaina Bypass.
Police body camera footage showed stopped traffic on Lahainaluna Road, leaving even officers baffled.
With two main exits out of Lahaina, police directed evacuating people to Front Street, which had become a “parking lot” as the fire raged.REUTERS
“We have to move these cars! Why don’t cars move? said an officer on Lahainaluna Road.
Some of those who managed to escape did so by avoiding the road blockade.
Shortly after the fire broke out, the fire department closed the Lahiana bypass, effectively making Front Street, which runs along the coast, the only exit.
Police directed people toward the road, which had become a “parking lot” and later a disaster zone of burned cars in which some victims were trapped, while others were forced to flee into the ocean.
Front Street was one of the only exits out of Lahaina, as major intersections were blocked due to the devastating wildfire and downed power lines. AFP via Getty Images
An intersection to the north was also blocked.
Police told the BBC that the closures were due to downed power lines, but even some officers at the time did not know this.
“We need to go down there, because they don’t know what the [expletive] what they are doing,” said one of them. “They don’t understand,” another officer said.
Maui Electric, however, said the power was out and lines were not energized when people were evacuated, and that the company communicated the information to police throughout the day, even providing the BBC with audio of the police’s communications. company with the police.
“Without clear and definitive confirmation that the downed power lines were not energized, Maui police officers took reasonable precautions to avoid sending evacuees onto potentially electrified lines,” the department told the BBC.
A person walking down Front Street after the disastrous fire.AFP via Getty Images
Hawaiian Electric took responsibility for one of its power lines starting a fire earlier that day, but blames the fire department for failing to control the fire that broke out later that afternoon and destroyed the city.
Kekoa Lansford, who sold coconuts on Front Street and tried to help people escape, believes officials contributed to the casualties by closing some roads. Her great-uncle died trying to escape.
“He was a good guy, who got stuck in a traffic jam, tried to get around it and got caught in a fire. He died,” he told the BBC. “What should have happened is the roads should have been open.”
The Aug. 8 wildfire killed at least 99 people and was the deadliest in modern U.S. history.AP
Maui Mayor Richard Bissen admitted that the city was not prepared for the disaster.
An extensive emergency siren system was never activated and the county lacked a widely known evacuation plan.
“We should all take responsibility,” Bissen said. “All of us.”
with pole cables
Categories: Trending
Source: vtt.edu.vn