Warning sirens fail to sound during U.S. Hawaii's deadly wildfires -- survivors

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Questions have been raised about Hawaii's siren system, which did not sound during the devastating wildfires in the U.S. state's Maui Island on Aug. 3.

Many people told media that they received no official warnings about the blazes that have left 67 people dead, many others missing and hundreds of buildings destroyed as of local time Friday noon.

Hawaii Emergency Services Administration said on Friday that the warning sirens were not activated "on Maui during the wildfire incident," but alerts were sent by mobile devices, radio and television, and the opt-in resident alert system.

Widespread power and signal outages cut off most communication to the stricken area. It was not clear whether the alerts were sent before the island was hit with widespread outages.

Many of the survivors from Lahaina, a historic town in Maui County burned down totally by the blaze, told CBS News Friday that they did not hear any sirens and only realized they were in danger when they saw flames or heard explosions nearby.

Dustin Kaleiopu, who fled Lahaina with his grandfather, told the outlet that there was not any warning about the fire, and they left with only what they were wearing.

Maui Fire Department Chief Brad Ventura said the fire moved so quickly from brush to neighborhoods that it was impossible to get messages to the emergency management agency.

But Elizabeth Pickett, co-executive director of the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization, told local news outlet Honolulu Civil Beat that the tragedy was foreseeable.

She said a report that she co-authored nearly a decade ago identified an increased wildfire risk to Maui, with Lahaina in an extreme risk area.

"Much more could have been done" to prevent or mitigate the disaster, she said.

Hawaii's siren system, known as the "All-hazard Statewide Outdoor Warning Siren System," is used to warn residents about emergencies including earthquakes, tsunamis, brush fires, flooding, lava, or terrorist events, according to the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.

The system sounded mistakenly twice in recent years.

In 2018, the text message alert system falsely told the whole state to take cover for an incoming ballistic missile that did not exist.

In 2019, residents in Oahu and Maui were sent into a brief panic when the outdoor siren system was triggered during a training.

In regard to these complains, Hawaii Governor Josh Green said Friday he could not say for certain if Maui's emergency siren system was activated properly ahead of the deadly wildfires.

Green told NBC News' Lester Holt on Friday that Lahaina located in a "very remote place" and when the tragedy occurred, Hurricane Dora, as strong as 80 mph (128.75 km per hour), knocked out telecommunications and essentially rendered the island dark.

"I'm very reluctant to blame anyone," he said. "We were fighting multiple fires that were being moved. Because of these winds, we're of course, like everyone else, dealing with the extreme changes, global warming, the drying of our land. And then when this storm passed to the south of Hawaii, that was the hurricane -- it sent those winds."

"Of course, we would never diminish any kind of responsibility," he said.