This was a really tragic accident ... But do you think sounding the sirens would have actually been counterproductive, like some officials are suggesting?
I'm torn. On one hand I believe human instinct should have kicked in and sent people away from the smoke - so any warning would have been better than none. On the other hand, who knows. I don't know what the visibility was, among other things.
There is no need to speculate. The person responsible for activating the alarm specifically said that the tsunami siren was not activated because they thought people would run away from the water and into the fire... as if they wouldn’t have noticed the fire! One guy in an interview said the only way he knew there was a fire a very short distance from his house was when he went outside to start up his generator after the power failed and then saw the fire.
Officials are full of BS. They should be run off the islands. Its the same excuse Mayor Turner made for Hurricane Harvey but on steroids. It had nothing to do with Rita's poor evac. Could just evac the most vulnerable places if the gov't was doing their job. It had everything to do with businesses booming during the Mayweather weekend fight. Hence no evac called for Houston in 2017. Same reason here. No evac called or it would have upset tourism.
Our daughter-in-law is from Lahaina. She said her sister had no warning of the fire. She had time to grab a coupla things and quickly drive off. Then she got stuck in traffic and had to abandon her car and "run for her life". Many family members have lost their homes. Please pray for the people of Maui and help them out, however you can.
I live in The Netherlands, and we have 3.800 of these sirenes spread across the country. It may suck to be stressed about a false alarm, but would you rather not have one when it does matter has always been my question when it happened. These sirenes are tested every first monday of the month at 12 pm and gives me a scare every time until I realize it's monday noon.
You must not understand how entitled modern people are around the world today. You better not inconvenience me, you better not do something that will look like a waste of my money.
it’s pretty impressive that you know the # of sirens that are installed & serving your community. meanwhile, hawaii cannot figure out how / why / when to use them.. let alone how many.
@@dai-nippon_digger It is wild and its true. Keep watching your feed. There were two young men who recorded their escape only to end up in a traffic jam. Then show the police car turning people around. They go the the beach and get into the water and keep recording. There are others also. Beware, it will cause your blood pressure to go up.
It's easy to be outraged when you were not there, you have the benefit of 100% hindsight. If you were in the civil defence center with limited mixed information coming in through a rapidly changing situation, it's hard to know what you would have done.
Hawaii local here, writing from overseas. Nowadays, the sirens are used primarily for tsunami warnings more than anything else. Most kids are taught this in school. So one other thing I could imagine is if the sirens went off, people would assume a tsunami was coming, and try to head to higher ground. The problem is, all higher ground is toward the interior of the islands, in this case, towards the fire. Edit: We're all discussing what if's and other considerations in the comments below.
@@Redact63Lluksyes use the tsunami alert for the fire, can’t imagine that going bad at all, especially because you do the same thing in a fire as you do in a tsunami! Since the alert is telling people to move inland, I am assuming there is no fire at all in the grassy area before the mountains east of town…you should definitely apply for the job, I’m sure with that solution they would hire you on the spot, assuming you don’t provide anymore deadly suggestions.
As a former Hawaii resident, this is honestly the first time hearing that the sirens weren't dedicated Tsunami warning sirens. This is what we were taught in schools growing up. Also, for the Jan 13th ballistic missile alarm, I was one of the people who didn't get a phone notification.
Same, we were notified by family in the mainland about the missle. We didn't get any text notification. The sirens being dedicated for tsunami, yeah... I think BS. When we had tsunami warning, tv screen flashed, text, no siren. Funny right. Smh. First of the month, sirens tested. This all makes no sense.
Do you have any idea why you didn't get the ballistic missile phone notification? I think some phones have these turned off by default... which is... something.
@@Inglip Sorry, no we still don't know. At first, we thought it was our carrier, phone type, or maybe we were in a crappy area. There were others, family, coworkers and friends who went about their day that also didn't get notifications. However, we did get the follow up text. That it was false.
Grown up in Germany during the cold war, sirens were tested regularly and every building had a display of what different sounds ment. We did exercises at school etc, so people had knowledge what it ment. I think even if the sirens just run continuously, people would have figured that there is a problem. Smoke generally is a good indicator.
to add, the director over it stepped down today. we should not place blame on 1 person. we should look at the systems that were/ or not in place and what to do to fix those issues in the future.
I was born and raised in Lahaina my family was one of the very lucky few to still have a house in the town, I always believed to be special place even within Hawaii and should more recognized throughout the world. I've been watching your videos and shorts for years now I never thought that the recognition my beloved town would get would be in such a tragic disaster such as this.
I’m so very sorry your beloved paradise was not recognized until this unprecedented tragedy occured. I have a new respect for the people of Maui, for your strength. God Bless You, Your Loved Ones and Lahaina.
Maika. I live on Maui for 30 years and for 20 just north of Lahaina. The reason for the whole world being concerned about Lahaina is that so so many people have been to Maui and to Lahaina! It is individuals and families who have visited here and loved it, that’s why the sorrow spread around the whole world. Lahaina has been recognized worldwide since the 1960’s when visitors began to vacation on Maui and many decided to stay for a while. For me, in 1992 a one week visit on Maui and I knew in my heart that living here was my next step in life! My thoughts were, I wanted to live a simpler life in a place of Beauty every day! We here in Honokowai, just 3 miles from the north end of the fire, are still in shock and trying to recover. It is so sad to drive towards Lahaina Town and to hit roadblocks, unable to get near the town! It hurts to look at pictures of Lahaina, road intersections, stores etc and realize they are gone forever, never to be seen again! Hold on to your sweet memories of Lahaina, that’s all we have left of the place. I’m sending you my love, wherever you now are, thank you for sharing what you did. Lahaina Town is remembered and cherished by so many, all over the earth, for the special time it gave them. For all it was a simpler time and was beautiful.
I completely agree w/ you. There are no coincidences. All warning systems failed, no water from hydrants, law-enforcement blocking escape from inferno, etc. Mass murder was committed, and those responsible must face justice.
@@denisek292 Oh and you left out one other thing. The evidence showing how auto glass melted alloy rims melted and some enting blocks leaves only one explanation as to how that happened. because it takes a 3000 degree plus oven to melt that shit and no wildfire gets that hot.
The excuse they Gave about not using the sirens because it might confuse people , is basically the government saying they didn't think the residents would be smart enough to step outside and realize there's a massive fire and not a tsunami. Using the sirens in conjunction with all the other notifications would of saved lives. If only for the fact that it would have gotten people out of their houses and notice the fire. After paradise getting hit so quick and hard, places with a fire risk shouldve updated evacuation and alert systems. Maybe should've started teaching that the sirens can be for any disasters and should be used in conjunction with other means of alerting residents. Ita Sad all around.
@@conor7154 a lot did. People are just ignoring how fast this fire moves. Go out side and just was at a normal pace for 30 seconds. Then look how far you went. The fire was moving faster than that. You can see it in some of the footage .
If ppl could record it on their phone, then they also should have received an alert or had the common sense to check media reports. Ppl today have no smarts and are obsessed with recording everything on their phones. Seconds matter in an emergency situation. If I smell or see smoke, you bet I try to find out whats going on!!! I review wildfires in my State whenever I smell smoke. No matter the emergency this Country is always ill prepared!! SMH
@@nostalgiadad7137 Please stop making excuses up for murderers. People ignored it cause they were told to trust their gov't with their lives. A deadly mistake. Fires moving fast and the tsunami siren are BS arguments. Its like the US back in Manifest Destiny "these people are too stupid and therefore need our guidance". These excuses do nothing but insult people's intelligence.
The sirens shown are Federal signal eows 612 (discontinued) Federal signal thunderbolt 1000t (discontinued) Speaker cluster Federal signal modulator Whelen wps 3000 (discontinued) Other speaker clusters Speaker siren Asc/aca rm 130/ pn20 (discontinued) Asc t128 Federal signal 2001 130 (specific model discontinued)
The SIRENS sounded during the Missile Crisis (On the morning of January 13, 2018, an alert was accidentally issued in Hawaii, instructing citizens to seek shelter due to an incoming ballistic missile)!! I was there I lived down across Sunset Beach on the L. Honoapiilani road Sunset Terrace on Maui. Siren went off and we all got a text saying "Ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill." This message was sent to MOBILE PHONES! and TELEVISIONS! They could have done the same for the fire the technology was already there.
not going to lie, if this was anything like 80% of wildfires in the rest of the world, it was man made, and someone has a lot of blood on their hands...
Something is very unusual. When you look at the photos and videos of the aftermath. You can clearly see where the houses once stood. The houses are just ashes, but the surrounding trees appear to be still alive. Why weren't all the trees reduced to ashes. There are many trees still present, yet the fire was so hot it jumped from house to house avoiding the trees
Here in Australia, I wondered if something similar could happen. A chain reaction of fire, cars, lawnmowers, lawns, gardens. Seems like there was a lack of awareness in Hawaii. Australians are fire aware. Me, now even moreso. Dry stuff burns, even your garden. It's wet and green now, but on a really hot day, it will die and dry out.
A broken power line was the cause of one of the suspected fires that grew. The owners of the building whose security camera caught the arc said down the street was another small fire.
I'm a registered nurse, and I work mainly travel ER. To the officials in charge of the disaster relief, you only need to ask yourself one question: Did you do everything that you could today? Not everything that you can think of; did you do everything that you COULD, TODAY. I hope that people are safe, and that those in charge can sleep well. I know I like to sleep well, and I ask myself this question every day. 👍😶🌫️🏥
I feel like its important to state that LRAD's are also used for crowd control. You just crank the volume up and its debilitating to anyone in its cone of effect.
My Condolences to everyone who Lost a Loved One and R.I.P to everyone who Lost their Lives! The US or specific Hawaii need to rethink their Alarming from Ground up. I live in Austria, one of the smallest Countrys in Europe, and we have over 8300 Sirens across the Country. There are different Sirens Tones which are taught in School and get testet every Week.
Condolences to the people who’ve lost everything, and prayers for those who lost family members. It was very sad to see the reports of this fire while it was happening. I’ve had many wonderful hours spent in Lahaina and for me it was one of the prettiest towns in the islands! Seeing the places where I had been, and have wonderful memories of burning, or burnt to the ground makes me sad, but much sadder for the people there. I’m sorry this happened to them and I pray that they pull their lives together again and are able to come back and rebuild on their family properties! If they could streamline the building permit processes there it would be good for all the natives who lost everything there.
yo its cool seeing you cover a non military video I was there for the first time when it happened it was an experience I feel so bad for those who lost everything.
That state is such a shitshow. Some clown accidentally sent out a text message to everyone on each island about a incoming missile. Yet they can’t get out an evacuation notice? Disgusting negligence
Unfortunally only due to such catastrophes the underlying problems emerge. I'm not talking about this particular wildfire - this is an universal statement. Every accident and natural disaster uncovers shortcomings relentlessly. These systematic faults are even more hurtful for those left behind, those who lost loved ones, those who lost everything... 😕
My sister is stationed on the USCGC Kimball in Honolulu and she had to go out to the water near Lahaina to conduct search and rescue missions, the smaller thins they have in the back pulled I think 12 people who got swept out to sea by the winds which is just crazy how strong that wind was
A few other questions Why were the nonnative plants allowed to take over the fields or removed when they became a hazard? Why was the water restricted? Why was the evacuation handled so badly? Who will end up with land that is taken through eminent domain? AHEmblackrock. Why wasn't the press allowed any access? The reason given was toxicity and the need to search but those are bad reasons. Why was aid to the remaining residents turned away? Is this really another case of - "OOOPS, we really messed this one up. I guess we get your land."?
The existing units are FAR more advanced then the LRADs and have about the same efficiency I own both a federal signal siren and an LRAD and I way prefer the Federal Signal unit as it’s far more configurable The LRAD arrays also don’t hold up as well the the Hawaiian climate and they are considerably more costly to maintain
Emergency notifications punch through the silence setting… Also, cellular system was down. Evacuation should have started when they closed the schools due to lack of power. Hundreds of kids confused on what to do…
@@TheMono25 Means the wrong warning type was used. Bad emergency management. Punch through are acceptable in group settings if everybody gets them. Still, many kids died who probably weren't near a wireless phone, plus might not have practiced emergency procedures at home.
On the big-island we got very lucky with our wildfires that day. Several people I know managed to get out of their homes as the fire was burning down the street they live on. The fire jumped their homes and burnt down the slopes behind their houses. I'm amazed by the efforts of our fire department and can only imagine just how easy it would have been for several places on the big island to suffer the same fate as Lahaina. I think they should have activated the tsunami sirens, but also understand why they did not, as we all know them exactly as that, tsunami sirens.
I have a feeling that, just like the tsunami of 2004, the world is now going to be much more aware of wildfires and the procedures surrounding them for decades to come.
The fires were blazing during daylight hours. If I see smoke and fire on the horizon and observe high winds that is all the signal I need to leave! My neighborhood does not have warning sirens for fires, how about yours?
'Two bit da vinci' did a decent video going into more detail about the weather and typography of the island city and would be a great watch. but this video was still very informative.
Growing up, there were 2 sirens that were tested every first business day of the month at 1145 a.m.: the tsunami siren and the air raid siren. Th tsunami siren was a steady sound and volume. The air raid one was an undulating sound. It was printed in a front emergency section of the white pages phone book. (The internet and cellphones didn’t exist yet.) On the day of the false ballistic missile alert, I heard a siren sounding from Pearl Harbor that was quickly silenced. I didn't get an emergency alert on my cellphone. I thought, if North Korea had launched a nuclear warhead missile at Hawaii, we only had 15-20 minutes before it would strike us. And if it WAS a nuclear warhead, there aren't many places on Oahu that would protect us. So I did nothing. Most people panicked. They took manhole covers off to climb underground. Most were really angry that it was a false alarm. If I heard a siren that wasn’t being tested, I would immediately think it was a false alarm or a tsunami. My first thought wouldn't be a wildfire threat.
I find it odd that the director of the emergency management agency was off island and didn’t return for several days. Even more concerning is that there are records of his texts with his team showing that he was aware of the situation.
So to break it down, wild government incompetence cost over 100 lives. Someone needs to go to prison over this. This might be one of the worst mishandled disasters in US history.
I guess it due to handle they need to reform and better ways to alert in uniform ways. By guessing they didn't have someone monitor the alert to trigger the alarm which create false alarm. They need to be check but knowing there depend on few secs from disaster type is not easy. They should train to like people check their surrounding and be ready and make another message by using step by step alarm.
Unless there are relevant factors not shown here, it sounds like the least bad option was to not use the sirens. There is simply no way to predict how so many people would have reacted if given a warning they associate with a tsunami. My best guess: they would have tried to get as high ground-wise as they could without hitting the fire. Such a rush in both directions would have inevitably clogged the roads even more. This is, of course, a governmental planning failure. They should not have let the system skew so much towards one type of emergency.
We know the sirens weren’t used. What is not quite clear is whether the people in charge decided not to blare them (for good reasons like not wanting people to go toward higher ground, which would have made matters worse), or that it was an oversight in the heat of the moment (no pun intended), and now they are justifying why the sirens were not used. Either way, what has happened is behind us. But the distinction would be important when it comes to accountability, procedures, etc.
A question is, do the actual potential environmental emergencies on the islands skew any amount toward more toward one type than toward other types? And do the residents' concerns skew more toward one type than other types? After all, Kansas here is less likely to have hurricanes and tsunamis than Honolulu, & Kansas is more likely than Maui to have supercells, hail, and tornadoes.
@@alonespirit9923 Wild fires are pretty rare here. I'm on the big-island so might be bias, but we have one ever year or two but they are usually small and are put out quickly. The big island might be over-prepared for them as-well, as I know we have a lot of specialized equipment for it. I cant speak as a Maui resident but I haven't heard about them having brush fires ever in the 30 plus years of my life here. Tsunami's are rarer still, but they effect the whole chain, and most people live on the coast, and strike silently without any warning in natural conditions. If you had put me in charge I wouldn't have considered the sirens on the spot, only in hindsight, but it might have been a good idea.
They said they made a conscious decision not to sound the sirens because residents are taught to find higher ground if they hear the siren. This would have sent coastline residents directly into the fire
From my personal knowledge, emergency warning sirens aren't being used as much as they should, due to the factor that they are "obsolete" and that your phones are more reliabile. Personally I don't agree that the EWS System is obsolete as your phones require cell towers, satellites, ect.
I am born and raised in Maui and I would always call the sirens “tsunami sirens” the only time I remember when they were used for anything other than a tsunami was for Hurricane Douglas in 2020. However its pretty clear now the sirens are going to be used more frequently. My aunty had to flee her house with her dog and despite her house being gone I'm glad my Lahaina family is safe.
The first fire started at 6am and was put out immediately by FD. At 9am same location a small fire was reported, FD didn't put it out this time due to lack of water (the fire location was only a few yards near the sea full of water), that fire smothered for at least 5 hours before it grew to spread to town center at around 3:30pm. The Maui Fire Department blames there was no water to fight the 9am fire with. That 9am fire was totally controllable if the FD had taken water from the seashore which is only a few yards away!!!
First we have the missile false alarm, false alarm for the Tsunami, and now no warning sirens used when the town is literally on fire. I feel like the EMS needs a major overhaul.
Another example of Hawaii's nanny state government. They thought that people would be so dumb that they would race, in the middle of the night, towards the fire, believing the alarm to be a tidal wave warning. Yes, that is how dumb they think we are.
In 1666 London burnt down and the English learnt their lesson. Legislation went into place that forbade building houses of wood and continues to this day. You had to use brick, stone, mud, etc. anything that didn't burn. This also makes a huge difference in storms. Looking at the photos most of those houses were flammable. My question is why? You have had 4 and a half centuries of advance notice. Similarly, Florida storm damage.
Canadian here. Something this important could have facebook saturating everyone's facebook feeds with notices to leave immediately./s. On the other hand, maybe facebook marketplace will show a major profit from travel and camping supplies after this.
Of course the sirens are in place for tsunami’s… But the residents of Lahaina are intelligent people, and anyone could look outside and see the smoke and determine that the fire was the factor for sirens. Plus, any major tsunami threat would most likely come from an earthquake occurring thousands of miles away. Only an island generated tsunami would pose an eminent threat. These sirens absolutely could have saved, peoples lives, or at least brought them outside to see the impending danger.
What is the normal time from the sounding of sirens to when the Tsunami hits. I’m sure it’s not minutes or maybe hour? Do they really think people would run towards a large fire they could see with smoke?
You left out a few important and inconvenient details. The water was shut off during the fire, the police were ordered to turn traffic away from safety, the electricity was turned off as a precaution before the fire started, plus many more inconvenient and disturbing facts that might be difficult for some channels to mention. Some channels might not be what you think they are, but are actually public education information. Don’t believe everything you hear and only half of what you see. Those 2000 + people were murdered, period. When your 15 minute smart city stands on the ashes of those innocent children, that dormant volcano will stop being so dormant. 🔥
What’s with all these people backing up the officials who obviously made life effecting dumb decisions, then don’t take accountability and resign? Like hold these losers feet to the fire! People want to be in these positions of power and not use it for good? We should hold them accountable
I don’t know if anyone else can relate but its mad annoying whenever this guy says a certain something followed by “it’s not what you think” I’m sure it is what I think.
I'm an external observer and so far I can conclude that some of the fault was due to not sounding the sirens. I don't care if they aren't speakers or don't communicate the proper message. The message of a siren is straight up clear. IMMINENT DANGER! And of course the fire department has even more fault for declaring the fire contained. That's what you get for investing in "diversity" rather than preparing, training and equipping your firefighters. The propaganda only goes so far.
Typhoons are in the Western Pacific. Hurricanes are in the Atlantic, Eastern Pacific, and Central Pacific. SAME event named differently by different peoples and languages. Only typhoons in the Pacific? INCORRECT.
Hey! The Civil Defense sirens worked just fine falsely reporting an inbound missile attack not long ago, but this was a conscious decision to NOT trigger the warning system. I hope that idiot awakes to find himself in a just court of law.
This was a really tragic accident ...
But do you think sounding the sirens would have actually been counterproductive, like some officials are suggesting?
I'm torn. On one hand I believe human instinct should have kicked in and sent people away from the smoke - so any warning would have been better than none. On the other hand, who knows. I don't know what the visibility was, among other things.
That WAS NO ACCIDENT MAN. C'MOM!!
There is no need to speculate. The person responsible for activating the alarm specifically said that the tsunami siren was not activated because they thought people would run away from the water and into the fire... as if they wouldn’t have noticed the fire! One guy in an interview said the only way he knew there was a fire a very short distance from his house was when he went outside to start up his generator after the power failed and then saw the fire.
It's scary times. In Canada, an entire provinces capital was evacuated.
Officials are full of BS. They should be run off the islands. Its the same excuse Mayor Turner made for Hurricane Harvey but on steroids. It had nothing to do with Rita's poor evac. Could just evac the most vulnerable places if the gov't was doing their job. It had everything to do with businesses booming during the Mayweather weekend fight. Hence no evac called for Houston in 2017. Same reason here. No evac called or it would have upset tourism.
Our daughter-in-law is from Lahaina. She said her sister had no warning of the fire. She had time to grab a coupla things and quickly drive off. Then she got stuck in traffic and had to abandon her car and "run for her life". Many family members have lost their homes. Please pray for the people of Maui and help them out, however you can.
Praying ❤
Praying. May God bless them and give them healing.
Praying will not help, what sort of god would allow this to even happen in first place?
The officials just informed the insurance company. now the companies needn’t pay for the refugees.
@@ThexMJTpraying gives you comfort so you could die in peace.
I live in The Netherlands, and we have 3.800 of these sirenes spread across the country.
It may suck to be stressed about a false alarm, but would you rather not have one when it does matter has always been my question when it happened.
These sirenes are tested every first monday of the month at 12 pm and gives me a scare every time until I realize it's monday noon.
we have on average a siren for every 0.854km²
Sounds like you need to set a siren alarm for 11.59
You must not understand how entitled modern people are around the world today. You better not inconvenience me, you better not do something that will look like a waste of my money.
it’s pretty impressive that you know the # of sirens that are installed & serving your community.
meanwhile, hawaii cannot figure out how / why / when to use them.. let alone how many.
@@RoboticDragon dude you need to take those meds and relax you sound equally as entitled
I don't think the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency's history of gross incompetence should get them off the hook for this particular instance.
Hawaii Gov be like, "We have decided that our past history of gross incompetence justifies this display of gross incompetence."
not when it is documented that police were blocking escape routes and turning people back into the fire.
@@dw3403 No way dat's true!!! Brah, you gotta be watching wild things to believe that!
@@dai-nippon_digger
It is wild and its true. Keep watching your feed. There were two young men who recorded their escape only to end up in a traffic jam. Then show the police car turning people around. They go the the beach and get into the water and keep recording. There are others also. Beware, it will cause your blood pressure to go up.
It's easy to be outraged when you were not there, you have the benefit of 100% hindsight. If you were in the civil defence center with limited mixed information coming in through a rapidly changing situation, it's hard to know what you would have done.
Hawaii local here, writing from overseas.
Nowadays, the sirens are used primarily for tsunami warnings more than anything else. Most kids are taught this in school. So one other thing I could imagine is if the sirens went off, people would assume a tsunami was coming, and try to head to higher ground. The problem is, all higher ground is toward the interior of the islands, in this case, towards the fire.
Edit: We're all discussing what if's and other considerations in the comments below.
That’s smart ngl
They were teaching us that in mililani in the 90s. can’t get much more inland than that on Oahu!
Yeah better to just let them sleep instead of accidentally wake them as they would have mindlessly ran towards a very obvious fire.
The guy who should have activated the warning system confirmed this is exactly why he did not activate it. He has since resigned.
@@Redact63Lluksyes use the tsunami alert for the fire, can’t imagine that going bad at all, especially because you do the same thing in a fire as you do in a tsunami! Since the alert is telling people to move inland, I am assuming there is no fire at all in the grassy area before the mountains east of town…you should definitely apply for the job, I’m sure with that solution they would hire you on the spot, assuming you don’t provide anymore deadly suggestions.
As a former Hawaii resident, this is honestly the first time hearing that the sirens weren't dedicated Tsunami warning sirens. This is what we were taught in schools growing up.
Also, for the Jan 13th ballistic missile alarm, I was one of the people who didn't get a phone notification.
That makes not sounding the siren legitimate, but in the meantime, makes the poor management/education of the system even more bizarre. 😢
Same, we were notified by family in the mainland about the missle. We didn't get any text notification.
The sirens being dedicated for tsunami, yeah... I think BS. When we had tsunami warning, tv screen flashed, text, no siren. Funny right. Smh.
First of the month, sirens tested. This all makes no sense.
Do you have any idea why you didn't get the ballistic missile phone notification? I think some phones have these turned off by default... which is... something.
@@Inglip Sorry, no we still don't know. At first, we thought it was our carrier, phone type, or maybe we were in a crappy area.
There were others, family, coworkers and friends who went about their day that also didn't get notifications.
However, we did get the follow up text. That it was false.
Emergency sirens are never dedicated to just one thing unless it's war time and the air raid sirens sound
Grown up in Germany during the cold war, sirens were tested regularly and every building had a display of what different sounds ment. We did exercises at school etc, so people had knowledge what it ment. I think even if the sirens just run continuously, people would have figured that there is a problem. Smoke generally is a good indicator.
We test here too but no one cares
to add, the director over it stepped down today. we should not place blame on 1 person. we should look at the systems that were/ or not in place and what to do to fix those issues in the future.
My condolences to all who lost loved ones and everything :(
Wanna talk about how the water manager didn't let locals use the water supply to fight the fires?
because then they would ran out of fresh water to drink and live.
@@aviationnine-tailedfox2216but now many have died
@@J4yT3a so what do you propose use the local water supply to put out fire then what? shipping great values water to hawaii?
@@aviationnine-tailedfox2216imagine thinking that’s an argument. what’s worse, over a hundred dead or drinking out of a water bottle?
@@aviationnine-tailedfox2216 Is the idiot that turned off the water during a fire your boyfriend?
I was born and raised in Lahaina my family was one of the very lucky few to still have a house in the town, I always believed to be special place even within Hawaii and should more recognized throughout the world. I've been watching your videos and shorts for years now I never thought that the recognition my beloved town would get would be in such a tragic disaster such as this.
I’m so very sorry your beloved paradise was not recognized until this unprecedented tragedy occured. I have a new respect for the people of Maui, for your strength. God Bless You, Your Loved Ones and Lahaina.
Maika. I live on Maui for 30 years and for 20 just north of Lahaina. The reason for the whole world being concerned about Lahaina is that so so many people have been to Maui and to Lahaina! It is individuals and families who have visited here and loved it, that’s why the sorrow spread around the whole world. Lahaina has been recognized worldwide since the 1960’s when visitors began to vacation on Maui and many decided to stay for a while. For me, in 1992 a one week visit on Maui and I knew in my heart that living here was my next step in life! My thoughts were, I wanted to live a simpler life in a place of Beauty every day! We here in Honokowai, just 3 miles from the north end of the fire, are still in shock and trying to recover. It is so sad to drive towards Lahaina Town and to hit roadblocks, unable to get near the town! It hurts to look at pictures of Lahaina, road intersections, stores etc and realize they are gone forever, never to be seen again! Hold on to your sweet memories of Lahaina, that’s all we have left of the place. I’m sending you my love, wherever you now are, thank you for sharing what you did. Lahaina Town is remembered and cherished by so many, all over the earth, for the special time it gave them. For all it was a simpler time and was beautiful.
Something fishy definitely went on. I hope there will be justice soon. RIP to those who has fallen from this evil act.
I completely agree w/ you. There are no coincidences. All warning systems failed, no water from hydrants, law-enforcement blocking escape from inferno, etc. Mass murder was committed, and those responsible must face justice.
the government set the fires using direct energy weapons
@@denisek292 Oh and you left out one other thing. The evidence showing how auto glass melted alloy rims melted and some enting blocks leaves only one explanation as to how that happened. because it takes a 3000 degree plus oven to melt that shit and no wildfire gets that hot.
The excuse they Gave about not using the sirens because it might confuse people , is basically the government saying they didn't think the residents would be smart enough to step outside and realize there's a massive fire and not a tsunami. Using the sirens in conjunction with all the other notifications would of saved lives. If only for the fact that it would have gotten people out of their houses and notice the fire. After paradise getting hit so quick and hard, places with a fire risk shouldve updated evacuation and alert systems. Maybe should've started teaching that the sirens can be for any disasters and should be used in conjunction with other means of alerting residents. Ita Sad all around.
people did step outside and ignore the fire. lots of people were even filming it on their phones not realizing how fast it was moving.
@@conor7154 a lot did. People are just ignoring how fast this fire moves. Go out side and just was at a normal pace for 30 seconds. Then look how far you went. The fire was moving faster than that. You can see it in some of the footage .
If ppl could record it on their phone, then they also should have received an alert or had the common sense to check media reports. Ppl today have no smarts and are obsessed with recording everything on their phones. Seconds matter in an emergency situation. If I smell or see smoke, you bet I try to find out whats going on!!! I review wildfires in my State whenever I smell smoke. No matter the emergency this Country is always ill prepared!! SMH
@@nostalgiadad7137 Please stop making excuses up for murderers. People ignored it cause they were told to trust their gov't with their lives. A deadly mistake. Fires moving fast and the tsunami siren are BS arguments. Its like the US back in Manifest Destiny "these people are too stupid and therefore need our guidance". These excuses do nothing but insult people's intelligence.
Yeah they wouldn’t know it was a fire until they saw smoke. Which is what happened
The sirens shown are
Federal signal eows 612 (discontinued)
Federal signal thunderbolt 1000t (discontinued)
Speaker cluster
Federal signal modulator
Whelen wps 3000 (discontinued)
Other speaker clusters
Speaker siren
Asc/aca rm 130/ pn20 (discontinued)
Asc t128
Federal signal 2001 130 (specific model discontinued)
🤓
@@artemi3 at least he is spreading knowledge, that is a hell lot more contribution to society than you are currently providing
@@ElectrifiedGremlin You just spent a solid 2 minutes replying to a single emoji. Good going there buddy
The SIRENS sounded during the Missile Crisis (On the morning of January 13, 2018, an alert was accidentally issued in Hawaii, instructing citizens to seek shelter due to an incoming ballistic missile)!! I was there I lived down across Sunset Beach on the L. Honoapiilani road Sunset Terrace on Maui.
Siren went off and we all got a text saying "Ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill." This message was sent to MOBILE PHONES! and TELEVISIONS! They could have done the same for the fire the technology was already there.
not going to lie, if this was anything like 80% of wildfires in the rest of the world, it was man made, and someone has a lot of blood on their hands...
DEW fires. Direct Energy fires.
You know that you are going to learn something new when this channel uploads.
Unbelievable and outrageous tragedy. Condolences to all who lost loved ones. ❤
Something is very unusual. When you look at the photos and videos of the aftermath. You can clearly see where the houses once stood. The houses are just ashes, but the surrounding trees appear to be still alive. Why weren't all the trees reduced to ashes. There are many trees still present, yet the fire was so hot it jumped from house to house avoiding the trees
Thanks for another amazing episode Not What You Think! My thoughts and prayers to those affected by the wildfire
I think sirens should always be take seriously, even if it was a false alarm.
Usually the sirens are used to alert people to get away from the coast when in this case, they were safer getting to the coast.
Here in Australia, I wondered if something similar could happen. A chain reaction of fire, cars, lawnmowers, lawns, gardens. Seems like there was a lack of awareness in Hawaii. Australians are fire aware. Me, now even moreso. Dry stuff burns, even your garden. It's wet and green now, but on a really hot day, it will die and dry out.
A broken power line was the cause of one of the suspected fires that grew. The owners of the building whose security camera caught the arc said down the street was another small fire.
I'm a registered nurse, and I work mainly travel ER. To the officials in charge of the disaster relief, you only need to ask yourself one question: Did you do everything that you could today?
Not everything that you can think of; did you do everything that you COULD, TODAY.
I hope that people are safe, and that those in charge can sleep well. I know I like to sleep well, and I ask myself this question every day. 👍😶🌫️🏥
Love your videos, just too early for ya. There are things that are not what you think
I feel like its important to state that LRAD's are also used for crowd control. You just crank the volume up and its debilitating to anyone in its cone of effect.
Ppl evacuate faster,
I see this as an absolute win!
Its called amplify the volume smoothly and slowly.
Extreme drought, dry vegetation and constant trade winds makes a near perfect location for wildfires.
Here in Australia we found that the fires create their own wind. Fire awareness and preparation are important. This was a firestorm.
Broken electrical fire , human error = fire
My Condolences to everyone who Lost a Loved One and R.I.P to everyone who Lost their Lives!
The US or specific Hawaii need to rethink their Alarming from Ground up.
I live in Austria, one of the smallest Countrys in Europe, and we have over 8300 Sirens across the Country. There are different Sirens Tones which are taught in School and get testet every Week.
As an American. We complain about everything. That's why they stopped using the sirens.
Condolences to the people who’ve lost everything, and prayers for those who lost family members.
It was very sad to see the reports of this fire while it was happening. I’ve had many wonderful hours spent in Lahaina and for me it was one of the prettiest towns in the islands! Seeing the places where I had been, and have wonderful memories of burning, or burnt to the ground makes me sad, but much sadder for the people there.
I’m sorry this happened to them and I pray that they pull their lives together again and are able to come back and rebuild on their family properties! If they could streamline the building permit processes there it would be good for all the natives who lost everything there.
Thank you for making this video. 😢❤
I would prefer a hundred times a false alarm than having to endure this...
Very interesting recent event and the only place I'm hearing about it - Well done on your journalism.
Odd that RUclips suppressed the hell out of this video in particular for some reason
Another brilliant video. "People being inconvenienced...."
Yeah, that's your problem right there. Thank you Mythbusters.
It doesn’t matter they would have still prevented the people from moving to safety. Don’t you think they intentionally created a killbox?
I could listen to your narration for hours. The content is fantastic.
Also Hawaii should look into getting some Canadair fire fighting plans. They are the GOATS of fighting wildfires
yo its cool seeing you cover a non military video I was there for the first time when it happened it was an experience I feel so bad for those who lost everything.
That state is such a shitshow. Some clown accidentally sent out a text message to everyone on each island about a incoming missile.
Yet they can’t get out an evacuation notice? Disgusting negligence
Unfortunally only due to such catastrophes the underlying problems emerge. I'm not talking about this particular wildfire - this is an universal statement. Every accident and natural disaster uncovers shortcomings relentlessly. These systematic faults are even more hurtful for those left behind, those who lost loved ones, those who lost everything... 😕
Unfortunately safety manuals are often written in blood
My sister is stationed on the USCGC Kimball in Honolulu and she had to go out to the water near Lahaina to conduct search and rescue missions, the smaller thins they have in the back pulled I think 12 people who got swept out to sea by the winds which is just crazy how strong that wind was
Have these 12 been included in the official death toll?
Yeah, the wind was intense that day here! “The smaller thins they have in the back”….this means WHAT?? So were all 12 people dead?
A few other questions
Why were the nonnative plants allowed to take over the fields or removed when they became a hazard?
Why was the water restricted?
Why was the evacuation handled so badly?
Who will end up with land that is taken through eminent domain? AHEmblackrock.
Why wasn't the press allowed any access? The reason given was toxicity and the need to search but those are bad reasons.
Why was aid to the remaining residents turned away?
Is this really another case of - "OOOPS, we really messed this one up. I guess we get your land."?
The existing units are FAR more advanced then the LRADs and have about the same efficiency
I own both a federal signal siren and an LRAD and I way prefer the Federal Signal unit as it’s far more configurable
The LRAD arrays also don’t hold up as well the the Hawaiian climate and they are considerably more costly to maintain
The siren was not turned on because the person in charge made the idiotic decision not to! He needs to be taken to court!
I would love to see you do more videos about these fires as more information comes out or doesn’t come out…
Great thanks for the clarification.
That's why it's not a good idea to keep your phone on silent
Emergency notifications punch through the silence setting… Also, cellular system was down. Evacuation should have started when they closed the schools due to lack of power. Hundreds of kids confused on what to do…
@lukevaxhacker7762 On the video it tells you that it wasn't that type of Warning That was issued
@@TheMono25 Means the wrong warning type was used. Bad emergency management. Punch through are acceptable in group settings if everybody gets them. Still, many kids died who probably weren't near a wireless phone, plus might not have practiced emergency procedures at home.
Telling the truth publicly is dangerous
On the big-island we got very lucky with our wildfires that day. Several people I know managed to get out of their homes as the fire was burning down the street they live on. The fire jumped their homes and burnt down the slopes behind their houses. I'm amazed by the efforts of our fire department and can only imagine just how easy it would have been for several places on the big island to suffer the same fate as Lahaina. I think they should have activated the tsunami sirens, but also understand why they did not, as we all know them exactly as that, tsunami sirens.
So many crazies in the comment section. Just the perfect storm of conditions for a fast moving fire.
WoW
Super Topical
Rock On! =o)
I have a feeling that, just like the tsunami of 2004, the world is now going to be much more aware of wildfires and the procedures surrounding them for decades to come.
still asleep...bummer
I am NEVER recommended your vids. i forgot you exist! D: !!!
It was all wrong on so many levels. The police chief and governor didn't even alert the coast guard that there was a fire, so they could help.
Yes, this is a good idea for your channel.
I’m from Hawaii love your videos.😊
The fires were blazing during daylight hours. If I see smoke and fire on the horizon and observe high winds that is all the signal I need to leave! My neighborhood does not have warning sirens for fires, how about yours?
'Two bit da vinci' did a decent video going into more detail about the weather and typography of the island city and would be a great watch.
but this video was still very informative.
A Paradise turned into Ash
More like Heaven Paradise turned into Hell Agony XD
Growing up, there were 2 sirens that were tested every first business day of the month at 1145 a.m.: the tsunami siren and the air raid siren. Th tsunami siren was a steady sound and volume. The air raid one was an undulating sound. It was printed in a front emergency section of the white pages phone book. (The internet and cellphones didn’t exist yet.)
On the day of the false ballistic missile alert, I heard a siren sounding from Pearl Harbor that was quickly silenced. I didn't get an emergency alert on my cellphone. I thought, if North Korea had launched a nuclear warhead missile at Hawaii, we only had 15-20 minutes before it would strike us. And if it WAS a nuclear warhead, there aren't many places on Oahu that would protect us. So I did nothing. Most people panicked. They took manhole covers off to climb underground. Most were really angry that it was a false alarm.
If I heard a siren that wasn’t being tested, I would immediately think it was a false alarm or a tsunami. My first thought wouldn't be a wildfire threat.
Man Maui is such a beautiful place and the people are so great. This is so sad.
Are you serious, if you heard the sirens and walked outside, where would you run when you saw a fire?
Good thing in here , every local mosque have loudspeaker that can be used as sirens
I find it odd that the director of the emergency management agency was off island and didn’t return for several days. Even more concerning is that there are records of his texts with his team showing that he was aware of the situation.
So to break it down, wild government incompetence cost over 100 lives. Someone needs to go to prison over this. This might be one of the worst mishandled disasters in US history.
I'd say the Pandemic trumps it by far!! Highly mishandled and ppl in denial. If course, it cost many of them their lives! But thats for another topic.
I guess it due to handle they need to reform and better ways to alert in uniform ways. By guessing they didn't have someone monitor the alert to trigger the alarm which create false alarm. They need to be check but knowing there depend on few secs from disaster type is not easy. They should train to like people check their surrounding and be ready and make another message by using step by step alarm.
The sirens could have caused confusion is weak man. Yeah they feared the people would run into the fire if they sounded the alarm. SMH
Things like this is why i am never going to live on a small island. Too scared of immolation
So I take it you're also never going to live inland where you don't have the emergency last resort of running into the sea?
Liar
@@benoithudson7235 i trust a forest more than a volcano
@@randomuser5443fair enough
It's exactly what I think and not what the official narrative is about all aspects of this tradgedy.
Unless there are relevant factors not shown here, it sounds like the least bad option was to not use the sirens. There is simply no way to predict how so many people would have reacted if given a warning they associate with a tsunami. My best guess: they would have tried to get as high ground-wise as they could without hitting the fire. Such a rush in both directions would have inevitably clogged the roads even more.
This is, of course, a governmental planning failure. They should not have let the system skew so much towards one type of emergency.
We know the sirens weren’t used. What is not quite clear is whether the people in charge decided not to blare them (for good reasons like not wanting people to go toward higher ground, which would have made matters worse), or that it was an oversight in the heat of the moment (no pun intended), and now they are justifying why the sirens were not used.
Either way, what has happened is behind us. But the distinction would be important when it comes to accountability, procedures, etc.
A question is, do the actual potential environmental emergencies on the islands skew any amount toward more toward one type than toward other types? And do the residents' concerns skew more toward one type than other types? After all, Kansas here is less likely to have hurricanes and tsunamis than Honolulu, & Kansas is more likely than Maui to have supercells, hail, and tornadoes.
@@alonespirit9923 Wild fires are pretty rare here. I'm on the big-island so might be bias, but we have one ever year or two but they are usually small and are put out quickly. The big island might be over-prepared for them as-well, as I know we have a lot of specialized equipment for it. I cant speak as a Maui resident but I haven't heard about them having brush fires ever in the 30 plus years of my life here. Tsunami's are rarer still, but they effect the whole chain, and most people live on the coast, and strike silently without any warning in natural conditions. If you had put me in charge I wouldn't have considered the sirens on the spot, only in hindsight, but it might have been a good idea.
@@Ciro1500Hey there. Word from someone in the area is appreciated.
This is the first “not what you think” video, where the reasoning and result of the fires are EXACTLY what we think ..
They said they made a conscious decision not to sound the sirens because residents are taught to find higher ground if they hear the siren. This would have sent coastline residents directly into the fire
From my personal knowledge, emergency warning sirens aren't being used as much as they should, due to the factor that they are "obsolete" and that your phones are more reliabile.
Personally I don't agree that the EWS System is obsolete as your phones require cell towers, satellites, ect.
I am born and raised in Maui and I would always call the sirens “tsunami sirens” the only time I remember when they were used for anything other than a tsunami was for Hurricane Douglas in 2020. However its pretty clear now the sirens are going to be used more frequently. My aunty had to flee her house with her dog and despite her house being gone I'm glad my Lahaina family is safe.
why are there leaves still on the trees? The wood seems to be unburned. The car tires melted but is sitting in a parking lot.
Easy. Most trees indesd are burned. Some across widerfields where not reached by the fire.
Also trees have protective biology against fire
When did they first launch a helicopter to scout the fire, someone needs to breakdown the response time. ❤
The 80 mph, 128 kph, winds mentioned, how would they have impacted launching that helicopter?
@@alonespirit9923 The answer is no launch.
@@erikk77 That's what I was expecting. (Dad, now retired, was in a helo crash in USN, and a nephew is maintenance and crew chief on Army Chinooks)
Everything that could go wrong went wrong!
This was not the fault of the people who lived in Lahaina.
The first fire started at 6am and was put out immediately by FD. At 9am same location a small fire was reported, FD didn't put it out this time due to lack of water (the fire location was only a few yards near the sea full of water), that fire smothered for at least 5 hours before it grew to spread to town center at around 3:30pm. The Maui Fire Department blames there was no water to fight the 9am fire with. That 9am fire was totally controllable if the FD had taken water from the seashore which is only a few yards away!!!
I went on vacation there weeks before the fire. Surreal
Timely!
I got my first tattoo there.. so crazy and such a tragedy.
First we have the missile false alarm, false alarm for the Tsunami, and now no warning sirens used when the town is literally on fire. I feel like the EMS needs a major overhaul.
Officials ALWAYS want to avoid panic, despite the consequences. "Move along people, there's nothing to see here..."
A few months ago Germany tested it with tone and it worked out perfectly fine
They only work if the fire chief turns them on. He chose not to…
Another example of Hawaii's nanny state government. They thought that people would be so dumb that they would race, in the middle of the night, towards the fire, believing the alarm to be a tidal wave warning.
Yes, that is how dumb they think we are.
Which way do you run when the sirens go off for ballistic missiles?
In 1666 London burnt down and the English learnt their lesson. Legislation went into place that forbade building houses of wood and continues to this day. You had to use brick, stone, mud, etc. anything that didn't burn. This also makes a huge difference in storms.
Looking at the photos most of those houses were flammable. My question is why? You have had 4 and a half centuries of advance notice. Similarly, Florida storm damage.
Canadian here. Something this important could have facebook saturating everyone's facebook feeds with notices to leave immediately./s. On the other hand, maybe facebook marketplace will show a major profit from travel and camping supplies after this.
Of course the sirens are in place for tsunami’s… But the residents of Lahaina are intelligent people, and anyone could look outside and see the smoke and determine that the fire was the factor for sirens. Plus, any major tsunami threat would most likely come from an earthquake occurring thousands of miles away. Only an island generated tsunami would pose an eminent threat. These sirens absolutely could have saved, peoples lives, or at least brought them outside to see the impending danger.
Directed microwave, no warning, no electricity, no water, no way out, you get cooked, throw metal in your microwave what happens? Lahaina
No, silly it’s jfk jr popping some popcorn and burnt it 😂😂😂😂
😂😂😂
What is the normal time from the sounding of sirens to when the Tsunami hits.
I’m sure it’s not minutes or maybe hour?
Do they really think people would run towards a large fire they could see with smoke?
You left out a few important and inconvenient details. The water was shut off during the fire, the police were ordered to turn traffic away from safety, the electricity was turned off as a precaution before the fire started, plus many more inconvenient and disturbing facts that might be difficult for some channels to mention. Some channels might not be what you think they are, but are actually public education information. Don’t believe everything you hear and only half of what you see. Those 2000 + people were murdered, period. When your 15 minute smart city stands on the ashes of those innocent children, that dormant volcano will stop being so dormant. 🔥
What’s with all these people backing up the officials who obviously made life effecting dumb decisions, then don’t take accountability and resign?
Like hold these losers feet to the fire! People want to be in these positions of power and not use it for good? We should hold them accountable
Could you do a video on how tires are able to take extreme heat, like the blackbird or space shuttle, i imagine they would get hot
I don’t know if anyone else can relate but its mad annoying whenever this guy says a certain something followed by “it’s not what you think” I’m sure it is what I think.
I'm an external observer and so far I can conclude that some of the fault was due to not sounding the sirens.
I don't care if they aren't speakers or don't communicate the proper message. The message of a siren is straight up clear. IMMINENT DANGER!
And of course the fire department has even more fault for declaring the fire contained. That's what you get for investing in "diversity" rather than preparing, training and equipping your firefighters. The propaganda only goes so far.
People were too busy wondering "wtf is a hurricane? We only get typhoons in the pacific!" to evacuate early.
Typhoons are in the Western Pacific. Hurricanes are in the Atlantic, Eastern Pacific, and Central Pacific. SAME event named differently by different peoples and languages. Only typhoons in the Pacific? INCORRECT.
What happened? They got those kids on school buses and sent them to Okra's 'Master Class' Adrenachrome Farms.
Hey! The Civil Defense sirens worked just fine falsely reporting an inbound missile attack not long ago, but this was a conscious decision to NOT trigger the warning system. I hope that idiot awakes to find himself in a just court of law.