Pictured above is Rotary President Anna Reilley and Rotarian guest speaker Tim Hagel. Photo credit Martha Richardson.

Fillmore Rotary Club member, Tim Hagel, gave a program on the devastating fire in Lahaina, Hawaii. Tim was asked to go and investigate what caused the fire. When he arrived and began his investigation with three others, he learned that there had been a fire in another area and all fire personnel were there. No one was in Lahaina to fight the fire which was made up of mostly older citizens who couldn’t get out. Fire burnt a house in 30 seconds and wind moved it from house to house. Sixty people died on one street because there was no water to fight it. Overall, 31 policemen saved 14,000 people. Others who survived had bicycles and motorcycles, the only vehicles that could fit in the narrow streets. After two months of investigating, they concluded that there was no leadership, and no emergency services at all as well as no water. After the incident they wondered why no one even thought of going in the ocean when the Coast Guard even had boats going back and forth. He concluded his program, informing Rotary that California has safety policies in place so something similar hopefully will not happen here.