New documentary looks at what went wrong during Maui fires and early warning signs
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - More than a year after the wildfires that ravaged Maui and killed 102 people in Lahaina, a PBS documentary series is taking a hard look at what happened that day.
Since 1983, Frontline documentaries have looked into key moments and topics around the world.
Just this year, it won an Oscar for a documentary looking into the war in Ukraine.
The team says it spent 13 months investigating the deadly Aug. 8 fires and it says there are still unanswered questions.
The one-hour documentary looks at the breakdown in the government’s response that day and what lessons can be learned from Lahaina.
SPECIAL SECTION: MAUI WILDFIRES
Frontline also looked at warning signs made after the fire in 2018.
At a community meeting, residents confronted Maui officials over concerns that the county was unprepared for a major wildfire.
Maui County tells Hawaii News Now it did not turn down any help from the state.
It believes it used every resource available at the time from the county, state and private sector.
It points out that the winds were so strong that day that air assets were grounded.
County officials also say issuing an emergency proclamation in advance wouldn’t have impacted its access to resources because the state had already issued one for the entire island chain.
You can watch the full documentary here.
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