The Hawaiʻi Department of the Attorney General released the second phase of its investigation into the Lahaina fire, which revealed that no single factor caused the catastrophic event.
The Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI), commissioned by Attorney General Anne Lopez, prepared the report, which concluded that the fire’s devastation was caused by a combination of weather conditions, decades-old infrastructure, lack of preparedness, and management coordination issues.
“This investigation serves as a wake-up call for the state and county governments to learn from the past and urgently prepare for the future,” Lopez said.
The report calls for urgent action to mitigate future disasters.
The Lahaina fire was the deadliest in North America in 100 years.
One of the central findings of the report is the misalignment between the growing wildfire threat in Hawaiʻi and the perception of risk.
According to the report, the state’s residents and various agencies lacked adequate awareness and preparedness for wildfire risks.
Attorney General Lopez highlighted that the report includes 140 recommendations, with many of them targeting improved risk perception, public education, and enhanced wildfire prevention policies.
FSRI emphasized that greater investment in prevention is necessary to prevent future disasters.
The Lahaina fire spread rapidly due in part to outdated infrastructure standards.
The report found that the dense urban layout, outdated building codes, and poor vegetation management allowed the fire to devastate the most populated areas.
The report also pointed to inadequate evacuation routes as a factor that worsened the impact.
FSRI stated: “The conditions that made this tragedy possible were years in the making,” underscoring the need for immediate action to address infrastructure challenges.
The report also detailed issues related to the management of the fire response, identifying a fragmented command structure that led to communication breakdowns.
This lack of coordination affected both the evacuation process and firefighting efforts.
While first responders are credited with saving many lives, FSRI recommended that incident management be streamlined and communication with assisting agencies improved.
The report stressed the importance of pre-event planning and stronger inter-agency cooperation during emergencies.
The second phase of the Lahaina Fire Incident Analysis Report, released by the Hawaiʻi Department of the Attorney General, outlines a complex set of factors that contributed to the August 2023 fire.
The report, prepared by the Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI), emphasizes that weather conditions, outdated infrastructure, and insufficient preparedness combined to create the disaster.
It includes 84 findings and 140 recommendations for improving wildfire prevention, infrastructure standards, and incident management.
The report highlighted the need for better public awareness of wildfire risks and coordination among government agencies.
A comprehensive database of documents and media collected during the investigation has also been made available to the public to ensure transparency.
The Attorney General stressed the importance of implementing the recommendations to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
