A wildfire near Lahaina, Hawaii that was initially contained has reignited and threatened homes, but some residents are complaining that they did not receive evacuation orders.

The death toll from wildfires in Maui was already rising significantly Thursday as questions intensified about whether authorities they had acted with enough speed for the evacuation of the Lahaina tourist resort, where many people described harrowing escapes.

When the brush fire was first spotted early Tuesday, Maui County officials ordered evacuations in an area on the city’s east edge near a school. But within hours, officials announced on Facebook and the county’s website that the fire was “100% contained”. And for the next few hours, while the county’s Emergency Management Agency warned people to stay off several blocked roads, there appeared to be no further evacuation orders.

Only as the fire spread rapidly in Lahaina, fanned by high winds, officials ordered more evacuations, according to statements posted on the county’s website and social media accounts. But by then, in the afternoon, some people had already escaped the flames and thick smoke as they made last-minute efforts to get to safety, while many residents said they were never notified.

At a press conference Thursday night, Fire Chief Bradford Ventura said the fire moved so quickly that it was “almost impossible” for emergency management officials to send evacuation orders in time.

Asked if he had been warned about the fire, Lahaina resident Mark Steffl was blunt. “Hell no,” said Mr. Steffl, who reported that he fled with his wife when they saw flames about 500 meters from their home. He said the fire quickly closed in on them as they drove through thick black smoke – and eventually made it to safety. “No one expected this,” he said.

Claire Kent, who works in Lahaina and takes tourists out on a boat off the coast, said she started to panic around 3:30 p.m. when he saw a cloud of black smoke rise and heard an explosion. A neighbor told her that three nearby gas stations were on fire and urged her to pack a bag to leave. As she and several friends tried to get out of town, she said, she saw people trying to flee on foot, some carrying children.

Even then, Ms Kent said, there had still been no warning of the need to evacuate – apart from a shirtless man on a bicycle across the road shouting: “You’ve got to get out!”.

“That was the closest thing to a warning”, said Ms. Kent, 26, who eventually made it to the safety of a friend’s home, about 25 miles away. “There were no police officers with loudspeakers telling people to evacuate.”

But some residents said they had received an emergency evacuation notice, raising questions about why the notices they did not reach more people who were in danger.

Carl Cudworth, 63, evacuated his Lahaina home with his wife, Lori Prozezinski, 52, and the rest of their family after Cudworth received an emergency alert on his cellphone around 2 p.m. on Tuesday.

The alert, which appeared in red text on a white background, rang loudly three times, unlike any other noise Mr Cudworth had heard from his phone before. “Something like a fire engine,” he said. After he opened his phone to read the message, it disappeared, he said, but it was enough to make them leave town.

Maui Mayor Richard T. Beesen Jr. said evacuation orders had been issued for “affected areas,” including Lahaina, but did not share more details about the because other people did not receive them. And he admitted that some people – particularly people in hotels, he said – were told to evacuate to their places to avoid blocking roads. A notice on the county’s website at 4:45 p.m. said that “people on the west side” of Maui – where Lahaina is located – “are advised to evacuate unless evacuations are ordered.”

Another resident, Ernesto Perez, 42, said with a serious bushfire reported, he had kept his ears open Tuesday in case the island’s emergency sirens went off. They never did, but before he knew it, a strong gust of wind engulfed his apartment building in thick smoke around 5 p.m.

Mr. Perez gathered his mother and four daughters into his van. Behind them, he said, the building was on fire. Mr. Perez got away as fast as he could, maneuvering around the blocked streets.

“It was basically raining fire,” said Mr. Perez. “Everywhere”.

Robbie Wears, who has lived in Lahaina for decades, said the only warning she received was from someone — it was unclear who it was — yelling from a moving vehicle.
who was passing by her house. He left as he saw the sky darken and fill with smoke.

“They didn’t get out of the car,” he said of whoever was giving the warnings. “If I hadn’t been home, I wouldn’t have heard it.”