Jennifer Potter, a former member of the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission,

 Jennifer Potter, a former member of the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission, 

told the news site Honolulu Civil Beat that she believes "there should have been greater alarms raised" by the commission to Hawaiian Electric as forecasts began to warn of the hazardous wind conditions. Potter said the utilities commission should have pushed the electric company to implement a power shut-down protocol ahead of time to mitigate wildfire risks, noting that Hawaii has seen a rise in both the size and intensity of fires in recent years.

Firefighting efforts and emergency response

A number of agencies were called to respond to wildfires on Maui as the blazes spread rapidly over the island on Tuesday, Aug. 8, although weather conditions linked to Hurricane Dora hindered some of those efforts. National Guard helicopters activated as part of the state's emergency response to the wildfires were grounded as the wind gusts picked up that evening.

A state emergency proclamation authorized the deployment of National Guard troops and extended the state of emergency. President Biden approved a federal disaster declaration on Thursday, Aug. 10. 

Maui's warning sirens were not triggered as the fast-moving fires began to spread. Instead, the county used emergency alerts sent to mobile phones, televisions and radio stations.

When asked by reporters on Aug. 16 whether he regretted not activating the sirens, Herman Andaya, chief of the Maui Emergency Management Agency, responded "I do not."