Cal Fire is the Cobra Kai of firefighting agencies. Strike first, strike hard, no mercy (on the fire). Oakland Hills was in 1991.
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Remember the fire in Oakland hills?
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I worked Dispatch for the Tunnel Fire (Berkeley 911). Narrow roads, vegetation alongside buildings, hot, dry, windsâŚand Oakland had a fire pervious day that rekindled. Nature slaps us down to remind us She is in charge, but, with that, we still need to do preventative measures. My heart goes out to all who lost loved ones and livelyhoods.
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LA Countyâs (I)SAR going to Maui. Seems like enough USARs at this point, but its better to be thorough, and just as well to spell teams on a unit basis rather than ad hoc repl-deple.
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I agree AJ.
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Ssshhhhh - donât jinx it! Shutsky-upsky!
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From the Maui County Fire Departments Web Page. BTW this and the Airport are the only fire agencies in Maui County which includeâs the islands of Maui, Molokaâi, Lanai, and Kahoâolawe. To say they were overwhelmed from the very beginning is an understatement.
Staffing & Resources
Fire/Rescue Operations includes 279 personnel trained to respond to and mitigate a wide variety of emergency situations. They are assigned to 14 fire stations spread throughout the county. Available resources include:
14 engine companies
3 mini-pumpers
2 ladder companies
1 helicopter
1 rescue company
3 rescue boats
1 hazardous material company
4 personal watercraft
4 tankers (WTâs)
1 Utility vehicles
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Am I missing something? Why is there not a fleet of U.S. warships anchored off Lahaina ? Massive amounts of resources at Pearl Harbor. Seeing very few personnel on T.V. Not being critical or a Monday morning quarterback, just a honest question.
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Logistics could be one reason. Mission would be another. Hawaiian/Federal laws could be a third. The military is not the be all end all for saving everything. Not saying you should trust that everything is going to plan, just you asked for some possible reasons. Let the processes/procedures play out.
What is seen on TV is not representative of what is occurring on the ground.
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What are you proposing they provide?
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Keep in mind that nothing other than immediate aid for the survivors can initiated until the search and recovery efforts for human remains is completed. This isnât a time in which massive amount of resources can be thrown at this and everything will be back to normal. This phase is a slow methodical search of the entire burn area
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Well, from what I have seen and read about . . . there are elements from seven different FEMA US&R task forces either in Maui or on the way. Just because we donât see them on TV, doesnât mean they arenât there working. Plus the Hawaii National Guard, as well as local resources.
Another possible reason, because there were deaths, the immediate fire area may be classified as a crime scene until proven otherwise. This would limit media access.
As for the US warships, they might be out doing military things:
â Protecting merchant vessels from Iran.
â Monitoring North Korea.
â Deploying to West Pacific because of Chinaâs actions around Taiwan.
â Deploying to Aleutian Islands area because of China-Russia joint exercises.
â Oh, and that thing in Ukraine.
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Correct @FF238 there are a lot of troops out of Pearl Harbor and Hickam but how many are those troops trained in SAR this is a search and rescue mission. After being involved with debri flows and the camp fire recovery the personnel not trained in SAR tend to miss alot and this is something that needs to be conducted by trained and qualified USAR teams. Also being the hub for the US naval pacific fleet they might not be available due to national security and missions being conducted.
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AndâŚfrequently the ships sitting in port are not fully functionalâŚthey are being repaired and serviced, and the full crew may not be on board.
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@FF238 Welcome to our little community. Do not take the multitude of responses as anything but an answer to your valid question. Hope to see/hear from you in the future.
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Iâm very aware of the limitations and the local response, I know people on the islands . I have lots of experience as a 30 year California firefighter and a past team member. Iâve been to many of the largest fires and earthquakes going back to the Oakland hills. The people need Basic supplies and communication networks setup. The military is very good at this. Plus itâs not a ocean away. Again just a honest question Iâm sure it happening just not seeing or hearing about the response.
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The Park Service and DOFAW Dept of Forestry and Wildlife also have a presence on the island. DOFAW has an old cal Fire model 5 and some gama goats old military all wheel drive engines. I have taught many S courses over there and the county state and feds are all well trained and work well together
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There was a third fire at a much higher elevation on Haleakala. The Park Service was probably tied up there.
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Yesterday, the USCG had ships just off the coast from Lahaina:
CG Juniper, which has a big crane that can hoist up to two 29ft SAR boats onto and off of the ship. Juniper is still in the area.
CG Midgett, an endurance cutter, possibly for sensors and traffic control.
About a half dozen of their 29ft SAR boats.
As far as logistics, the airfields on Maui are all active and interisland air transport is probably more efficient. The hurricane winds were over a wide area so itâs probably been a pretty busy time for USCG. While it would be impressive to see an LHA, like USS America, sitting there with a lot of helo activity, there wouldnât be much for them to do.
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Ghost7
You answered most of the million Dollar question! They really donât need firefighters they are asking for food, drinking water, shelter like tents and fuel do to the power being out. Tumbleweed thanks, I have thick skin . Is a team being activated? Lol jk.
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