In deadly Maui fires, many had no warning and no way out. Those who dodged a barricade survived
apnews.com
As flames tore through a West Maui neighborhood, fleeing residents headed for the only paved road out of town in a dash for safety.

https://apnews.com/article/hawaii-fires-timeline-maui-lahaina-road-block-c8522222f6de587bd14b2da0020c40e9

Cause of death: climate change, cops, cars

“So the police were blocking roads, the exit, some of the exit roads out,” he says. “And I’m assuming it’s because there’s been some downed power lines or some downed trees.” Maui Police Chief John Pelletier confirmed that at a news conference two weeks later. "We did not close or forbid people from getting out of Lahaina,” Pelletier said. “If there was a downed power line that was live, we wanted to make sure that you didn’t go over a downed live power line.”

“The gridlock would have left us there when the firestorm came,” said Cuevas-Reyes, 38. “I would have had to tell my children to jump into the ocean as well and be boiled alive by the flames or we would have just died from smoke inhalation and roasted in the car.”

  • SacredExcrement [any, comrade/them]
    ·
    1 year ago

    As flames tore through a West Maui neighborhood, car after car of fleeing residents headed for the only paved road out of town in a desperate race for safety.

    And car after car was turned back toward the rapidly spreading wildfire by a barricade blocking access to Highway 30.

    Some died in their cars, while others tried to run for safety.

    During a news conference Tuesday, Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said police officers drove up and down streets, knocking on doors and using loudspeakers to tell people to leave, but he didn’t say exactly where and what time those efforts occurred. The Associated Press has filed public records requests for location reports and other documentation including video and internal communications to clarify the details of the police and fire response, but Maui County has not yet released that information.

    ACAB folks, now and forever