(trendingpoliticsnews) – According to recent reports, residents and visitors of Lahaina faced a terrifying predicament when the only main road out of the town was found to be blocked by massive electric company trucks and even police barricades. The barriers presented a life-threatening obstruction for those trying to evacuate from an unspecified emergency.
In the midst of the chaos, resident Cole Millington, 26, described the scene as “epic bumper-to-bumper traffic while we were trying to escape.” He told NBC, “There were no police officers in sight. What there was were Hawaiian Electric trucks coming in with new telephone poles.”
“Instead of waiting for everybody to get out, they were blocking the only way out with their big trucks.”
On the evening of Aug. 8, as Lahaina residents rushed to evacuate amid an unspecified emergency, they encountered unexpected obstacles. Millington, along with his roommate Caitlin Carroll, recounted the harrowing experience of fleeing the area around 4 p.m. and encountering Hawaiian Electric workers actively clearing downed power lines from the Honoapiilani Highway.
“I understand that,” Millington commented, referring to the need to remove hazardous electrical wires from the main thoroughfare. “You don’t want to be driving over live wires.”
However, his understanding turned to frustration when he observed the same workers beginning to replace the damaged poles in the midst of the evacuation. He recalled the mounting anxiety and said, “We were like, get the f— off the road and let us get by.”
The pair found themselves and fellow evacuees confronting unexpected obstacles on the Honoapiilani Highway. Both Millington and Carroll recounted the baffling decision by Hawaiian Electric crews to not only clear downed power lines but also to start replacing damaged poles, despite the immediate danger.
“It made no sense what they were doing,” said Millington. “They could see the sky was black. They could see the city was on fire. They could see the wind was still whipping everything around. But they were already starting to plant new power poles.”
In the midst of the chaos and mounting tension, Carroll noticed the community’s spirit shine through. She witnessed several drivers, in their urgency to evacuate, disembarking from their vehicles armed with chainsaws. Instead of simply bypassing the obstacles, they joined forces with the electrical crews, assisting in clearing the downed poles.
“But they were waved away. It would be one thing if they were just clearing away downed power lines to let us through. But their trucks were in our escape lanes, and they were already trying to fix the poles, replace the poles, while we were just sitting there. It made no sense.”
Amanda Cassidy, 33, and her boyfriend were among those who experienced the frightening ordeal firsthand.
As they tried to leave their neighborhood via Lahainaluna Road, they were met with the sight of their rental home being engulfed in flames. Cassidy narrated that they encountered police roadblocks while utility crews scrambled to manage downed power lines, further complicating their escape.
Documenting the terrifying scene, Cassidy posted a video on Instagram capturing the intensity of the moment. The footage appears to show her taking a dangerous left turn directly into the path of oncoming traffic. The drastic maneuver was due to an entire lane of cars being brought to a standstill because of the roadblocks. The urgency was clear: a raging fire was descending the hill towards them.
“When you have thousands of people in vehicles trying to flee, you have to figure something else out,” Cassidy remarked, highlighting the apparent lack of coordination between the utility services and the urgency of the evacuation. “That is our lifeline, our escape route, and you cut us off from it? There was no other way out.” The situation underlined the dire need for a more efficient and synchronized response during emergencies.
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