MAUI, Hawaii — After facing criticism in recent days for his decision not to activate the siren warning system in the midst of the Maui fires, Maui Emergency Management Agency Administrator Herman Andaya has stepped down, according to a Facebook post by the County of Maui.
“Given the gravity of the crisis we are facing, my team and I will be placing someone in this key position as quickly as possible and I look forward to making that announcement soon,” Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen said in the post.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Mr. Andaya was asked whether he regretted choosing not to sound the sirens. “I do not,” he said.
He said that the sirens were primarily used for tsunamis and that if they had sounded them, they were afraid people would have gone “mauka” – or onto the mountainside. “And if that was the case,” he said, “then they would have gone into the fire.”