Maui’s Fire Risk Was Glowing Red

Updated 12:32 p.m. on August 22, 2023

When the wildfire came ripping down into the town of Lahaina, Maui’s state-of-the-art emergency sirens did not sound. That much is sure.

In the immediate aftermath of the fire, officially the deadliest in modern U.S. history, the decision not to sound these alarms has been one of the more baffling ones. Sirens are supposed to warn people, and shouldn’t more people have been warned by any means necessary? The official in charge of making the call, Herman Andaya, resigned Thursday, citing health reasons. And yet, under pressure, officials have also defended their decision not to sound the island’s sirens.

Whether they should have is a more complicated question than it might seem—even wildfire-evacuation experts I talked with were divided on it. Communication with the public is one of the most important parts of a wildfire evacuation,