Maui Police share bodycam footage of Lahaina wildfire.
Maui Police Release Body Camera Footage of Wildfire Rescue
HONOLULU—Maui police held a news conference on Monday to showcase gripping 16 minutes of body camera footage captured during the devastating wildfire that tore through Lahaina town in August. The footage includes heart-stopping scenes of officers rescuing 15 people from a coffee shop and rushing a severely burned man to the hospital.
Chief John Pelletier, in an effort to provide context before the video’s release, explained that his department had a deadline to fulfill an open records request for 20 hours of body camera footage.
Earlier this month, Maui County responded to an open records request by providing the Associated Press with 911 call recordings.
The 16-minute video unveiled during the news conference showcased the heroic efforts of officers evacuating a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf shop at a supermarket on Front Street, an area heavily affected by the wildfire. Amidst swirling smoke, officers swiftly guided 15 individuals out of the coffee shop, loaded them into police SUVs, and transported them to the Lahaina Civic Center.
In another gripping clip, an officer discovered a badly burned man at a shopping center and immediately placed him in the back seat of his patrol car. The officer compassionately asked, “I’ll just take you straight to the hospital. That sound good?” to which the man weakly responded, “Yeah.”
One of the videos showcased an officer securing a tow strap to a metal gate blocking a dirt road escape route, while residents used a saw to cut the gate open, allowing a line of cars to pass through. Multiple shots depicted officers going door-to-door, urging residents to evacuate.
The fast-moving wildfire on August 8th tragically claimed the lives of at least 99 people and destroyed over 2,000 structures. Survivors recounted encountering barricades and blocked roads due to the flames and fallen utility poles.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, with downed power lines igniting dry, invasive grasses being a potential trigger. An AP investigation revealed that the answer may lie in an overgrown gully beneath Hawaiian Electric Co. power lines, which harbored smoldering embers from an initial fire that burned in the morning and reignited in the afternoon’s high winds.
Powerful winds associated with a passing hurricane spread embers from house to house, hindering firefighters from deploying helicopters to combat the blaze from the air.
By Audrey McAvoy
What impact did the quick response and actions of the Maui police officers have on saving lives and minimizing damage during the devastating wildfire in Lahaina?
Ping scene from the footage, two officers are seen rescuing a severely burned man from the wildfire and rushing him to the hospital. The officers can be heard reassuredly comforting the man and urging him to hold on as they navigate through the chaos of the blazing fire.
