Andaya has come under fierce criticism for failing to deploy Maui’s emergency alarm system to warn residents about the wildfire.
Herman Andaya resigned Thursday as head of Maui’s Emergency Management Agency, effective immediately, following controversy over his decision not to sound the Hawaiian island’s emergency alert system when a deadly wildfire struck last week.
On Wednesday, he told journalists he did not regret the decision, saying that sounding the alarm “would not have saved those people.” Following his resignation, which he said was based on health reasons, there have been calls online for Andaya to be placed under investigation.
So far, 111 people are confirmed to have died in the Maui blaze, which erupted on August 8 and is the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century. The death toll is expected to rise as emergency workers comb through the wreckage. The town of Lahaina, on Maui’s western coast, suffered extreme devastation and was mostly destroyed, with more than 1,700 buildings reportedly burned.
Andaya’s resignation was announced in a statement from Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen. It said: “Today Mayor Richard Bissen accepted the resignation of Maui Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) Administrator Herman Andaya.
