Dave Pauli: “There are always lessons to be learned from these horrific events, but human decision makers need to apply those lessons.” [Dave Pauli, a member of the Greater Good Charities rescue team, debuted in animal rescue after major disasters following Hurricane Andrew in Florida in 1992, was incident commander at the Lamar-Dixon animal rescue […]
Lahaina rescuers win access but find few animals; pigs not to blame for fire
Threat of lawsuit appears to concern officials more than the plight of animals marooned by the firestorm, hundreds already rescued LAHAINA, Maui, Hawaii––Eighteen days of animal rescuers battling bureaucracy to retrieve surviving animals from inside the Lahaina burn zone, leveled by wildfire on August 8, 2023, ended abruptly when Maui County announced that, “As […]
Lahaina: National Guard top brass defends keeping rescuers out on TV
Cats and rare birds are still seen more often in & around the burn zone than the ASPCA LAHAINA, Maui, Hawaii––National Guard adjutant general Kenneth Hara on the evening of August 24, 2023 addressed questions about animals still at large in fire-stricken Lahaina for all of two minutes on Hawaii News Now. The operative word […]
Veterinarian testifies from her time spent at Ground Zero in Lahaina
by Maria Jose, DVM I am a Big Island veterinarian who took part in the Maui animal rescue. Although I was not there on a daily basis, I feel that I witnessed enough to make a viable assessment of the situation there. As a part of the rescue effort, I had the opportunity to perform […]
Much grandstanding, but still no access for animal rescuers in Lahaina
How to tell Joe Biden’s Lahaina appearance from ASPCA fundraising appeals KAHULUI, Maui, Hawaii––Among the obvious differences between U.S. President Joe Biden’s August 21, 2023 photo-op appearance at firestorm-razed Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, and American SPCA [ASPCA] fundraising appeals claiming “Our team is on the ground in Maui,” is that visual confirmation of Biden’s six-hour presence […]
Animal updates from the Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii fire disaster
Many animals lost, few found as yet, but rescue teams are searching WAILUKU, Maui, Hawaii––The first flames reached Lahaina at around 6:30 a.m. on August 7, 2023. Hit by the worst of wildfires driven by winds from Hurricane Dora, the small city was obliterated two days later, just hours after the Lahaina fire was reported […]