Crime & Safety
U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda, Who Represents Maui, Says Warning Sirens "Likely Did Not Go Off" Ahead Of Wildfires
"The reality is, with those warning signs, it tells all of us to turn on the television or look on our phones or the radio," she said.
August 14, 2023
Rep. Jill Tokuda of Hawaii said Sunday that the state's warning sirens "likely did not go off" in Maui as the fast-moving fire approached the historic town of Lahaina, where crews are still searching for many who remain missing and the death toll has climbed to 93.
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"Everybody who has ever lived in Hawaii knows the warning sirens. It goes off once a month, every month, at 12 noon and it blares. And if it doesn't, it gets fixed because that is our first line of defense," Tokuda said during an appearance on "Face the Nation" Sunday.
"Sadly, tragically, in this situation those sirens likely did not go off," said the congresswoman, whose district includes Maui. She also suggested that warning signals typically sent to mobile phones could have been affected by mass power outages reported on Maui when the wildfires broke out. Those outages likely prevented people from accessing useful information about the nature of the warning and guidance on how they should proceed, Tokuda added.
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