Maui Emergency Management Agency unveils disaster preparedness roadmap

Almost two years after the disastrous August 2023 wildfires brought to light shortcomings in Maui County’s emergency response, the Maui Emergency Management Agency has completed a comprehensive Strategic Plan and an Integrated Preparedness Plan aimed at reshaping the county’s approach to disasters.

While the plans presented by agency Administrator Amos Lonokailua-Hewett were met Wednesday with appreciation by Maui County Council members for being thorough and forward thinking, there remained a critical question: Does the understaffed agency have the resources and capacity to execute the plans?

“It’s mind boggling to think that you could possibly accomplish all of them in one year’s time,” Council Chair Alice Lee said.

Lonokailua-Hewett’s presentation to the committee was “very eye-opening,” and the plans seemed “rather ambitious,” she said. “Do you have all the resources and employees that you need to carry out this agenda?”

“Not as fast as I would like,” Lonokailua-Hewett said. “So we are taking smaller steps rather than bigger steps. We are making progress in all of the things reflected in the Strategic Plan and Integrated Preparedness Plan. I’d like to move faster. And we cannot move fast until the positions are established and filled.”

The agency is currently staffed at 18 of 22 approved positions, with three more requested for fiscal year 2026, which begins July 1.

“Without positions, there are no lead positions, which means that there’s no continuity or no growth,” he explained.

The discussion highlighted the agency’s heavy reliance on outside help. Pre-positioned contracts for essential services like rubbish hauling, portable toilets and other logistical needs are being developed and are expected by August. The work of hazardous fuel mitigation will also be contracted out.

Before the council’s Disaster Recovery, International Affairs, and Planning Committee on Wednesday, Lonokailua-Hewett outlined a new vision where “community and government work seamlessly together.”

He stressed that the agency’s new mission is built on relationships, robust planning, and integrating the “whole community” into every phase of emergency management, from preparedness to recovery.

“That’s what we’re trying to build,” he said, adding that the agency’s vision is “all of us, the whole community, coming together collectively, seamlessly to respond and to recover.”

“There’s no solution without the community, and we’re investing in connecting with the community,” Lonokailua-Hewett said.

The public’s demands of the agency, especially post-disaster, have changed, he said.

Now, “there’s a heightened angst about wildfires and evacuations and what was not a priority in the past is now a priority,” he said.

The strategic plan draws from lessons learned from the 2023 fire disaster and other events like the 2018 Hurricane Lane fires. It incorporates findings from multiple after-action reports and aims to address critical failures in communication, coordination and capacity that were apparent in post-disaster reports.

For example, the Fire Safety Research Institute’s Phase 2 report, commissioned by the state Department of the Attorney General, found multiple causes contributed to a systemic collapse in the response to the disaster. These included: a low perception of wildfire risk; outdated infrastructure (water systems, vulnerable power lines in high winds, loss of cellphone towers); poor vegetation management; a lack of communication among agencies and the public; a lack of a unified incident command and operational coordination; and insufficient communication that hampered effective evacuations and firefighting operations.

More than 2,200 buildings were destroyed, and the fire claimed at least 102 lives.

“I think as we all experienced, we weren’t maybe positioned or prepared or staffed accordingly to match the pace of a large wildfire,” Lonokailua-Hewett told council members. “I don’t think anybody was. But moving forward, we have to be. We have to look at the surge of an escalating incident and have resources in place or in position to support what is necessary.”

A “unified and coordinated response” is essential, he said.

“My job is to understand how all of the entities work under one vision, under one plan in a disaster,” he said. “One of the things that we’re actively working on is the incident command post, unified command. Those initial commanders on the ground, we depend on them to provide information to us and request support accordingly so we can mobilize the county in an effective way and both the Fire Department, Police Department, and MEMA have been working to improve that. And that’s reflected in our strategic plan.”

Key features of the plan include:

• Enhanced alert and warning systems: MEMA is leaning heavily on new technology like the Genasys Protect mobile app, which officials say can send targeted alerts to specific zones within three to five minutes — at least 89% faster than the 45-minute timeline of earlier warning systems. The agency is also working to improve the siren system, bolster partnerships with radio stations, and launch public education campaigns to build trust and familiarity with the new tools.
• Community integration and resilience: A cornerstone of the plan is to create a “Community Network” of leaders in different districts for information sharing and coordination. The agency also aims to expand the Community Emergency Response Team program, setting a “lofty goal” of a 10,000-person roster by 2028. Resilience hubs and stronger partnerships with nonprofits and businesses are pivotal to this part of the planning effort.
• Massive planning overhaul: The emergency agency has contracted out the development of 23 essential plans, including a comprehensive Continuity of Operations Plan and a Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan. These plans, determined as “missing or fragmented” in the past, are expected to be completed by the end of 2025.
• Wildfire risk reduction: In a new role, the agency is piloting a wildfire risk reduction program. The agency will manage a $2.7 million post-fire grant to reduce hazardous fuels on 100 properties identified by the Maui Fire Department. Lonokailua-Hewett acknowledged the immense scope of this task, stating the work will initially be piloted “until a better alternative shows up.”
• Upgraded Emergency Operations Center: A new, larger EOC is scheduled to be operational by Sept. 1. This facility is designed to better accommodate the expanded staff and the complex demands of a large-scale disaster response.
• Support for isolated communities: Staff specialists have been placed in East Maui, Moloka’i, and Lāna’i. A drone program is also being launched to provide real-time situational awareness and damage assessment capabilities for these remote areas.

Council members’ concerns about on-the-ground execution were evident.

Council Member Nohelani Uʻu-Hodgins pressed for inter-departmental simulation training, which Lonokailua-Hewett confirmed has begun but is not yet comprehensive.

The committee also raised the issue of communication gaps, pointing out that some residents receive faster information from third-party apps like Watch Duty than from official alerts. Lonokailua-Hewett said the delay of official notifications is often caused by MEMA waiting for actionable, verified information from incident commanders on the ground.

The agency’s strategic plan is guided by three core Hawaiian principles articulated by Lonokailua-Hewett as: kuleana (mutual responsibility), ʻohana (family and community), and aloha (godliness, reverence, and respect).

Near the end of the meeting, committee Chair Tamara Paltin asked Lonokailua-Hewett if the County has him in a “permanent capacity.”

He indicated an issue about the permanence of his employment as MEMA administrator and his status as a retired battalion chief remains unresolved, but “there is a path forward.”

“I’m not sure what the status is on the steps in that path, but there’s a step,” he said. “There’s a path forward that we have discussed.”

The agency has promised monthly progress reports to the Office of the Mayor. The Council has requested to see them.

Paltin deferred committee action on the matter, which can return to the panel later for further review.