From the AP: In deadly Maui fires, many had no warning and no way out. Those who dodged barricades survived
As flames tore through a West Maui neighborhood, car after car of fleeing residents headed for the only paved road out of town in a desperate race for safety.
And car after car was turned back toward the rapidly spreading wildfire by a barricade blocking access to Highway 30.
One family swerved around the barricade and was safe in a nearby town 48 minutes later, another drove their 4-wheel-drive car down a dirt road to escape. One man took an dirt road uphill, climbing above the fire and watching as Lahaina burned. He later picked his way through the flames, smoke and rubble to pull survivors to safety.
But dozens of others found themselves caught in a hellscape, their cars jammed together on a narrow road, surrounded by flames on three sides and the rocky ocean waves on the fourth. Some died in their cars, while others tried to run for safety.
Personally, I think that whomever put up the barricades should be charged with something.Report
Only if they were put up for the fire event. If they are due to road construction or a change in normal traffic patterns then its likely no one would have anticipated this. It is tragic, but it ay not be negligent much less criminal.Report
From the article:
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Maximum lodging rate for feds in Hawaii right now is $354 per night. That’s all any hotel can charge any government traveler. If FEMA officials are paying more, they are doing so out of pocket.
And that $700 is just a start:
Maui residents can and will get way more.Report
To be fair, the barricades were put up to stop people driving over downed power lines and through reported fire areas. It turned out that “driving over downed power lines and through reported fire areas” was the least-bad option but nobody recognized at the time how strong the fires were going to get and how quickly.Report
This reminds me of a secure facility I used to work in. Facilities had scheduled a fire drill and when the alarms went off, the electronic locks all engaged and trapped us inside the building. We were told the locks were programmed to engage to protect classified information.Report