Baskadia

Chief Herman Andaya defended his decision to only send out alerts via mobile devices, radio and television, and the county’s opt-in resident alert system after his experience and qualifications for the lofty position were called into question during a press conference held by the governor.

Andaya said that the blaring sirens are typically reserved for tsunami warnings and that Hawaiians are trained to seek higher ground when they are set off, which would have been toward the fast-moving inferno that killed 110 people.

“Had we sounded the siren that night, we’re afraid that people would have gotten mauka [toward the mountains] and if that was the case, then they would have gone into the fire,” Andaya said. 
“I should also note that there are no sirens mauka, or on the mountainside, where the fire was spreading down. So even if we sounded the siren, we would not have saved those people out there on the mountainside.”


“I should also note that there are no sirens mauka, or on the mountainside, where the fire was spreading down. So even if we sounded the siren, we would not have saved those people out there on the mountainside.”