The residents of Lahaina, Hawaii encountered a life-threatening emergency when the only main road out of town was blocked by massive electric company trucks and barricades.
Cole Millington, 26, who was trying to escape described it as “epic bumper-to-bumper traffic” with no police officers in sight.
It seemed that instead of allowing everyone to evacuate first, Hawaiian Electric trucks were blocking the only way out with their large vehicles.
As people rushed to evacuate on Aug 8th they found themselves facing unexpected obstacles.
The Honoapiilani Highway had been blocked by fallen power lines and workers replacing damaged poles.
In this moment of urgency some drivers got out of their cars armed with chainsaws in order to help clear the debris from the street but were waved away instead.
Amanda Cassidy, 33, recalled her experience while fleeing alongside her boyfriend which included police roadblocks and utility crews managing downed power lines obstructing their path and a raging fire descending down the hill towards them.
She described how they eventually had no other choice but take a dangerous left turn directly into oncoming traffic due to these blockades making it impossible for them to flee any other way.
It is concerning that during such an emergency there is seemingly little coordination between services like utility companies and law enforcement when thousands of people are attempting to escape for safety.
As observed by Cole Millington “they could see the sky was black…the city was on fire…but they were already starting to plant new power poles” which demonstrates a lack of communication or concern for those in danger.
