Hawaiian officials reportedly downplayed the threat of wildfires for years prior to the deadly blaze on the island of Maui last week, as records show a history of underfunding and lack of planning that may have contributed to the devastation.
Investigations from CNN and The Wall Street Journal found that Hawaii had dismissed wildfires as an event that could cause widespread damage to the state. A 2022 report from the State of Hawaii Emergency Management Agency (HIEMA) ranked tsunamis and hurricanes as the two likeliest occurrences to present a risk to Hawaiians. Out of 10 types of natural disasters, wildfires were the lowest threat on the list, with the report simply stating that the risk from wildfires to humans was "low."
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