Maui officials hired Darryl Oliveira as interim administrator of the Maui Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) following the deadly Lahaina wildfire in early August.
Mr. Oliveira is the former head of the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency (HCCDA). He replaces Herman Andaya, who recently stepped down, citing “health reasons.”
“We are honored to have Darryl Oliveira step forward to serve Maui County’s community in this unprecedented disaster,” Mayor Richard Bissen said in a statement.
“His locally-led response amid storms, fires, flooding, and lava events, along with his pulse on the Neighbor Island community, demonstrate invaluable experience and skill during challenging times.”
On Aug. 28, Mr. Oliveira took command of the agency’s emergency preparedness and response efforts, including the response to the West Maui wildfire disaster.
He will work out of the Maui County Emergency Operations Center for his assignment.
Mr. Oliveira spent more than 30 years in the Hawaii Fire Department, nine as department chief, and three years serving as HCCDA administrator.
He recently visited Lahaina and said he was shocked by the magnitude and impact of the disaster.
In a statement, Mr. Oliveira said, “Looking back at past operations, the community has really stepped up out there to take care of themselves.”
“It’s not just the communities that are affected, the communities around them are coming together as well. I think that’s the strength we have in the islands with people coming together.”
As HCCDA administrator, Mr. Oliveira managed the county’s mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery efforts for disaster events, including tropical storms and the 2014 Pahoa lava flow.
He has extensive experience in structural fire protection, wildland fire protection and suppression, and search-and-rescue operations.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Mr. Oliveira is also a consultant with Community Safety Innovations, a position held since January 2017, and an instructor and lecturer at Hawaii Community College.
Mr. Andaya, his predecessor, resigned Aug. 17 amid public criticism of his handling of the Lahaina wildfire response and his decision not to sound the all-hazard sirens used in emergencies.
Many residents believe the sirens would have saved lives, but Mr. Andaya argued the sirens would have added to the confusion and panic as residents tried to flee the town.
Honolulu Civil Beat reported that Mr. Andaya had no formal education in disaster management when he accepted the administrator position in 2017.
“Instead, his main qualification was being chief of staff to then-mayor Alan Arakawa. But in that role … he assisted during emergency operations,” and participated in online FEMA courses and workshops.
The news agency reported that Mr. Andaya was the county’s top choice of 40 other applicants for the job.
The Aug. 8 Lahaina fire, with more than 90 percent contained, left 115 dead and nearly 1,000 still missing in what federal officials described as the worst natural disaster in U.S. history.
However, many residents still question the official narrative and seek answers on social media.
As of this week, authorities had searched 99 percent of the burn area for human remains while the county released the names of 388 still missing since the fire, tentatively removing at least 100 from the list in recent days.
In the aftermath, authorities erected black fencing and stone revetments around the burn area to keep the public and media out.
