The tragic wind-whipped Maui wildfire last month took many lives. How does the public warning system here shape up in comparison?
, cell phones through Wireless Emergency Alerts , opt-in services from local jurisdictions like Alert Seattle and more.
Investigation of the Maui firestorm continues, yet it is clear the warning system broke down. Chris Leonard, President of the, noted in a recent interview authorities and the public relied heavily on the use of cell phones to send and receive warning information about the fast-moving wildfire. The problem was the power and cell phone infrastructure was burned by the fire, resulting in no service.
Simone Ramel-McKay of Spokane County Emergency Management told KIRO Newsradio at the Washington State Emergency Management Association Conference in Spokane last week they initially used EAS to alert the county of the emerging Gray and Oregon Road wildfires with a focus on evacuations in the affected areas. They also used WEA and its ability to pinpoint messages dozens of times as the fire rapidly progressed and as winds shifted, turning the fire in other directions.
Of interest, county emergency management staff chose not to use X, formerly known as Twitter, since there were people spreading misinformation about the situation on the platform.
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