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Maui fires

T

Theater of My Mind

The deadly Maui wildfires were one of those rare incidents that simultaneously knocked out power, cell phones and 9-1-1 service during a disaster. This is exactly the kind of scenario that radio -- especially AM radio -- always presents as the case for its importance in an emergency.

Can anyone with firsthand knowledge describe how radio in Maui responded to this situation, whether EAS was activated and which stations stayed live on the air to help direct people to safety? It would be especially interesting to hear accounts of how radio saved lives amid this tragedy.
 
From CNN at 3 p.m. ET on August 10:
Hawaiian State Sen. Angus McKelvey, who represents the devastated town of Lahaina and lost his own home in the Maui wildfires, described a dire situation on the island Thursday.

"We need desperate help immediately," McKelvey told CNN, emphasizing that without cell phone service, the local government has no way of messaging residents to let them know where resources are available.
Click to expand...

This reinforces the question, is there any radio station supporting the government's efforts to get emergency messages out to residents? The senator's statement makes it seem like there is not.

I haven't seen any media report on radio's role in all of this yet but here's a throwback to last month:
FEMA: AM Radio is Most Dependable Way to Reach Individuals
https://news.radio-online.com/artic...o-is-Most-Dependable-Way-to-Reach-Individuals
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
From CNN:

"Honestly we don't know," the chief said. "Here's the challenge: There's no power. There's no internet. There's no radio coverage."
These widespread communications outages have made it incredibly difficult for crews in the field to communicate information to officials and contact residents who may need to be rescued, Pelletier said in a news conference Thursday.
Click to expand...

When areas are evacuated, radio stations also evacuate. There is no radio exemption.

However, FEMA will arrive tomorrow.
 
CentralFL said:
KSSK 590 AM out of Honolulu is a music station, but it definitely covers the affected areas well.
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It's a personality station, with lots of traditional AC talk, particularly mornings.

But the Honolulu stations don't have a great coverage to other islands. Years ago, the station on 870 tried going to 50 kw directional from Molokai, and they moved back to Honolulu as the coverage was no great and the power bill was deadly.
 
I've listened to them in Maui. Their coverage is actually quite good there, especially for an emergency situation. If emergency information needed to be broadcast to Maui, it would work using KSSK's AM signal.

As for their normal programming, KSSK is on FM in Honolulu on a full-market signal so very few listeners would be impacted.
 
We're now starting to hear from Maui residents that there was no warning from weather forecasters or anyone. Of course, the storms happened between 3 and 4 in the morning.

www.huffpost.com

Records: No Indication That Warning Sirens Sounded Before Deadly Maui Wildfires Overtook Town

Many survivors said they didn’t hear any sirens or receive a warning that gave them enough time to prepare to evacuate.
www.huffpost.com www.huffpost.com

www.theguardian.com

Maui residents had little warning before wildfires surged and killed at least 55

Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that warning sirens were triggered before the devastating fires
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
 
TheBigA said:
No that's exactly what the sirens are for, but my guess is that the Hawaii EMA doesn't staff overnights when the storm hit. That's commonly the case. Nobody expected the high winds either. Everybody was asleep.
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It was Murphy's Law in action: what could go wrong, did go wrong. Simple as that. No level of Monday morning quarterbacking can change that.

And if the local emergency management agency couldn't have foreseen this, there was no way in the world any broadcast outlet or AM station would have helped, especially for anyone under 40 that doesn't have an AM radio or know how to turn it on.
 
There's this one Hawaii Public radio has been putting out updates online and OTA of the fires. Not sure if anybody on Maui can pick up the OTA signals for now. But it's a case of the main station is located in Honolulu but have translators throughout the state. It's like the major TV Stations in Hawaii originate from Oahu but have translators all over the state.

HPR-1: 90.7 KKUA
HPR-2: 89.7 KIPM

www.hawaiipublicradio.org

As it happened: How the Maui wildfires became the state's deadliest disaster

This coverage has now concluded. Check back here for a timeline of the Maui wildfires as they happened.
www.hawaiipublicradio.org www.hawaiipublicradio.org


Where to Listen

Where to Listen
www.hawaiipublicradio.org www.hawaiipublicradio.org
 

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Hawaii's attorney general has announced a comprehensive review of emergency systems:

governor.hawaii.gov

2023-36 ATTORNEY GENERAL LOPEZ ANNOUNCES THE INITIATION OF A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF DECISION-MAKING CONCERNING HAWAIʻI WILDFIRES

HONOLULU – Attorney General Anne Lopez has announced that the Department of the Attorney General will be conducting a comprehensive review of critical decision-making and standing policies leading up to, […]
governor.hawaii.gov governor.hawaii.gov

The top issue is why the sirens didn't sound.

Hawaii's governor has ordered a comprehensive review of the state's actions in the hours after devastating wildfires broke out on the islands earlier this week, including why warning sirens were not used to alert residents on Maui.
Click to expand...
 
www.hawaiinewsnow.com

A valued source of communication, Maui radio DJs grapple with lack of information

They hear it all from the music to calls of desperation.
www.hawaiinewsnow.com www.hawaiinewsnow.com

Hawaii News now does a segment how radio stations in the State are responding to the fires.


HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - From taking calls of desperation, to sharing what they know when they know it, local radio hosts have long been a valued source of communication, especially during disasters.

However in light of the recent fires, many on Maui have expressed concerns that information from the government in times of disasters is far too sparse and delayed.

Lines of communication remain severed with cell towers burned to the ground. That’s leaving radio as one of the few dependable sources of communication, which is putting added pressure on local outlets.

Veteran radio host Ed Kapoi of KISS took a call from Napili, North of Kaanapali.
Click to expand...
 
Y2kTheNewOldies said:
Hawaii News now does a segment how radio stations in the State are responding to the fires.
Click to expand...

The takeaway from this is that while terrestrial radio staffers are trying their best, they have not been getting any official updates from government authorities to pass along -- and this is several days after the initial disaster with cell service in the area already coming back online.

This is not a good look for the radio industry which continuously chest-thumps about how vital it is in case of emergency. Cast the blame where you want, but the bottom line is that radio is not living up to its own promises during exactly the kind of scenario they always use as a hypothetical example, where it's supposed to be the last service standing and will be there for you when all else fails.
 
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