I think we might not be understanding each other. All I am saying is that the NWS issues red flag warnings just like the National Hurricane Center issues the hurricane alerts, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issues tsunami messages. But yes, local civil defense is responsible for notifying us and telling us what to do.
I guess I'm inclined to cut them a break. We had a red flag warning and wildfires on the Big Island at the same time. A lot of my coworkers were told to evacuate for no reason and I had a much longer commute because they closed roads that didn't need to be closed. But had a fire exploded like it did in Lahaina, people were protected. It's always a tough call for them and I usually think they are too conservative at the expense of inconveniencing people. I guess Lahaina is a reminder that their conservatism may have merit.
When Lahina burns to the ground, killing (heaven only knows how many people) I'm sorry, but I'm not in much mood to cut anyone slack - especially since all the conditions were known. The fact that Maui doesn't deal with the dried brush that covers square miles of its hills overlooking cities (like Lahina) seems a major issue.
Could this disaster been averted. I don't know, but it seems multiple mistakes were made. Even a decent warning system would have been nice. Remember the "atomic attack" on Honolulu back a few years? Okay, I could maybe cut someone some slack for the original mistake - but I can't cut the mayor any slack for losing his password such that he could not cancel the warning. I can't cut him slack for not getting on the radio and saying "oops!" IIRC one person died during the fiasco. Many were hurt and more psychological damage was inflicted than we'll ever know. They FINALLY fired the guy who sent out the fake message - they had to force the mayor to fire him because this was his second major screw up. IIRC that was it. Maybe the Mayor hired someone to memorize his password for him.
I put the wild fires destroying Lahina in the same general category though I AM willing to wait for some more data/info to come in. I just might be wrong about what would have been possible to avert this disaster. YMMV
In your case, on Big Island, I guess this is just one of those "when is gummint doing too much and when is it doing too little?" I'm betting the surviving (former) residents of Lahina would vote for doing "too much."
I'm just a guy who reads the paper and watches TV (oh, and monitors NWS.) Every week or two, I see big wildfires on Maui - on TV (well, when I'm in Honolulu.) These fires are often big enough they bring out the Chinooks with the big dippers on them to put out the fires. Occasionally, a farm building gets destroyed. I've often wondered (Best scratching my chin look) "What would happen if a big wind carried one of those fires to a town?" It happened in the west last year. Could it happen here?
Sorry, if I seem "obsessed" with this subject. Maybe it's my way of dealing with this fire. Maybe my thinking is colored by my past. I have a vivid memory of a major fire in my home town. It happened in a repair garage. The fire dept. went in to save the day and someone had screwed up - left power energized which rekindled the fire. Several fire fighters lost their lives. That building was turned into (of all things) a retail building with several shops. Perhaps 45 years after the original tragedy, one of the businesses was remodeling. The existing facade was removed and I could see the black smoke discolored building underneath. I almost lost it as I drove by. So, maybe it's me. But I don't want this swept under a carpet. YMMV