‘What are we supposed to do?’: 911 audio from Lahaina fire reveal residents’ terror, confusion

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Newly released 911 calls from the Lahaina wildfire reveal the terror residents experienced while trying to escape the inferno that tore through the historic town.

Maui County officials released the recordings to the Associated Press as part of a public record request. They cover the period from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 8 — when authorities have acknowledged they were unaware of the severity in Lahaina with other areas burning.

You can hear the desperation and fear in the voices of family members separated from loved ones. In one call, a sobbing woman tells the dispatcher that her mom and baby are on Lahainaluna Road.

“I need to know. They’re on foot. It’s OK, we have officers over there,” the dispatcher says, trying to comfort the caller. “I need to know where did you see them last.”

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In another call, a mother asks the dispatcher to send police to get her children, ages 19, 12 and 5 years old. She says they are at home and do not have a car.

She is unable to reach them by phone because there is no signal. “I understand that,” the dispatcher says. “They’re all working on this fire. They’re not able to just go and get your children.”

Each caller pleads for help, as first responders do their best to comfort them but are clearly unaware of the scope of the disaster in those early hours.

“How are you gonna get them out?” asks one caller.

“I’m not sure, sir. We’re working on it. We only have so much resources,” the dispatcher says.

Special Section: Maui Wildfires Disaster

Officials say more than 200 calls were received from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., many calling from cars stuck in traffic on Front Street as they try to escape fast-moving flames.

“There’s a lot of people honking and trying to get out of the road. Is there anything you guys could do because the ashes are engulfing our car and the flames are going on our car,” one caller says.

“We have the fire department and the officers on their way to that area,” the dispatcher says.

But no help comes.

Other callers trying to evacuate toward the Lahaina Bypass beg for first responders to open locked gates and blocked roads.

“We need to break it open because there’s a lot of people back here,” one caller says.

“I’m going to try and get word out to (first responders) so that that gate can be opened or somebody can cut the lock,” the dispatcher says.

The calls underscore what survivors have recounted — chaos in Lahaina and little direction on how to escape. They’re also reigniting questions and concerns about the government’s response to the wildfire: Were agencies coordinating? What did they know and when? And if emergency management officials had responded more quickly, could lives have been saved?

Survivors have said in some cases, police officers turned people back toward the fire or blocked possible evacuation points. “People are gonna die here if you don’t make sure that the intersection is going to flow,” one caller says in the recordings “The intersection needs to be opened.”

“Yes, yes, we understand that, sir,” the dispatcher replies.

Among the vulnerable were people without cars or with limited mobility unable to evacuate on their own. About two-thirds of those who died in the fire were age 60 or older.

“It’s really scary. What are we supposed to do? We can’t be running around when there’s this fire,” one caller says’

“If you have family in the area than maybe would be able to pick you up?” suggests the dispatcher.

“Not here, not on this side of the island,” the caller says.

In another recording, a tearful caller says they don’t have a a car.

“You guys need to just grab the dog and go. You can’t stay there. Just get out of that area. Go to the Lahaina Civic Center,” the dispatcher says.

Maui County has not responded to the content of the 911 call recordings, but said in a post on Facebook that it is “truly unfortunate that as people are beginning to heal they are faced with re-experiencing the horrific event over again as it replays on media.”

The county also said the 911 tapes “capture in real time the conditions people were facing.”

HNN has also requested additional hours of 911 recordings, but those have not yet been released.

Questions about the response have also gone unanswered.

The state Attorney General is conducting an investigation into state and county agencies with the help of the nonprofit UL’s Fire Safety Research Institute. No word on when that will be released.

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