Bob Fenn on the ground in Hawaii since before the fires erupted

Biden: "I appointed Bob Fenn, one of the nation’s leading emergency managers — who’s been on the ground in Hawaii since before the fires erupted as our chief federal response coordinator to lead our long-term recovery on Maui." Bob Fenn attended a FEMA disaster training conference on Oahu. FEMA put on a statewide disaster training conference in Oahu that started 2 days before the Maui fire. The head of Maui Emergency Management Agency — Herman Andaya — was Pacific Partnership Meeting in Waikiki, along with as many as six state emergency management leaders, including Director Kenneth Hara, administrator James Barros and executive officer Don Aweau. The Pacific Partnership Meeting 2023 took place in Honolulu, Hawaii, from August 8-10.

According to documents, Andaya was in Waikiki at the Alohilani Resort attending what was scheduled to be a three-day FEMA disaster preparedness seminar called the Pacific Partnership Meeting. A receipt from the hotel shows Andaya checked in last Monday, a day before the fire started. That same receipt lists a departure date of Aug. 9, the day after the Lahaina blaze. According to the Pacific Partnership Agenda, the FEMA conference began Tuesday at 7:30 AM —after fires in Kula and Lahaina sparked. Officials from other counties confirmed seminars went on as scheduled that day. According to Tuesday’s agenda, the day wrapped up with a networking reception at the hotel’s Longboard Club from 5 PM to 7 PM. That’s the same time that Lahaina was being engulfed in flames.