Maui emergency services chief resigns after criticism for not activating sirens

Maui Emergency Management Agency administrator Herman Andaya speaks during a news conference in Hawaii (Mike Householder/ AP)

An emergency official who defended a decision to not sound outdoor alert sirens on Maui as a ferocious fire raged has resigned.

Herman Andaya, Maui’s emergency management agency administrator, had said this week that he had no regrets about not deploying the system because he feared it could have caused people to go “mauka,” a Hawaiian term that can mean toward the mountains or inland.