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hurricane dora
As Death Toll Hits 80, Hawaii AG to Probe Decisions and Policies on Wildfires
Campaigners continue to call out fossil fuel giants, with Kaniela Ing saying, "You can't claim to care about 'āina, but refuse to fight against the polluters that overheated our planet, warmed the air, and dried out our vegetation."
Aug 12, 2023
Hawaiian state Attorney General Anne Lopez on Friday announced her office will conduct a "comprehensive review of critical decision-making and standing policies leading up to, during, and after the wildfires on Maui and Hawaii," which have killed dozens of people.
"The Department of the Attorney General shares the grief felt by all in Hawaii, and our hearts go out to everyone affected by this tragedy," Lopez said in a statement. "My department is committed to understanding the decisions that were made before and during the wildfires and to sharing with the public the results of this review. As we continue to support all aspects of the ongoing relief effort, now is the time to begin this process of understanding."
As
CNNreported Saturday:
Hawaii officials underestimated the deadly threat of wildfires even as they acknowledged a lack of necessary resources to mitigate them, according to a CNN review of state and local emergency planning documents that show how ill-prepared the state was for the disaster.
One Maui County report on wildfire prevention from 2021 stated that while the number of acres consumed by wildfires had spiked, funds to prevent and mitigate them were "inadequate." The report also stated that the county fire department's strategic plan included "nothing about what can and should be done to prevent fires"—in what it called a "significant oversight."
While the outlet added that "Hawaii and Maui County officials didn't immediately respond to requests for comment Friday as disaster response efforts continued," local leaders have made some related comments this week.
The fire that ravaged Lahaina—the Hawaiian Kingdom's capital and a tourist destination—on Tuesday "moved so quickly that from where it started in the brush and moved into the neighborhood, communications back to those who make those notifications were physically and nearly impossible," explained Maui Fire Chief Brad Ventura.
Highlighting the winds from Hurricane Dora, Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen similarly said on NBC's "TODAY" Friday, "I think this was an impossible situation."
"The winds that hit us in on that side of the island, and in fact on other parts of the island, in some areas, the gusts were up to 80 mph, some sustained between 45 and 60-65 [mph]. So, everything happened so quickly. I can't comment on whether or not the sirens sounded or not, but I know that the fires came up so quickly and they spread so fast," he added, noting that some homes were evacuated.
According toThe Associated Press:
Many fire survivors said they didn't hear any sirens or receive a warning giving them enough time to prepare, realizing they were in danger only when they saw flames or heard explosions.
"There was no warning," said Lynn Robinson, who lost her home.
Hawaii emergency management records do not indicate warning sirens sounded before people had to run for their lives. Officials sent alerts to mobile phones, televisions, and radio stations, but widespread power and cellular outages may have limited their reach.
The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency (HI-EMA) said in a statement Friday that "the sirens are used to alert the public to seek additional information; they do not necessarily indicate an evacuation."
"HI-EMA is committed to transparency and will work with the Department of the Attorney General on the comprehensive review announced today," the agency added. "Our priority is supporting Maui County to assist the people affected by the fires."
U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday approved a disaster declaration for Hawaii. As search-and-rescue efforts continued, Maui County confirmed late Friday that the death toll had hit 80 and over 1,400 people were at emergency evacuation shelters.
The Pacific Disaster Center and the Federal Emergency Management Agency estimate that 86% of the 2,719 structures in Maui County exposed to fire were residential, and 4,500 people may be in need of shelter. They found that 2,207 structures were damaged or destroyed and 2,170 acres burned—and rebuilding is expected to cost $5.52 billion.
As humanitarian groups assisted the displaced on Saturday, firefighters in Hawaii kept working to contain blazes.
Amid the historic devastation, campaigners in Hawaii and beyond this week have called out the fossil fuel industry for creating the conditions for such "apocalyptic" fires on the islands, which were annexed by the United States in 1898.
Kaniela Ing, a seventh-generation Native Hawaiian from Maui and national director of the Green New Deal Network, addressed connections between the climate emergency and the fires across Hawaii on Democracy Now! Friday.
"The National Weather Service says the cause of this fire was a downed power line, and the spread because of hurricane-force winds. And the spread was caused by dry vegetation and low humidity. Those are all functions of climate change," Ing explained. "This isn't disputable. This isn't political. It, unfortunately, has become politicized, but it's a matter of fact. Climate pollution, corporate polluters that set a blanket of pollution in the air that is overheating our planet contributed—caused the conditions that led to this fire."
"In addition, there is mismanagement of land. The original 'Big Five' oligarchy in Hawaii, missionary families that took over our economy and government, they continue on today as some of our largest political donors and landowners and corporations. They've been grabbing land and diverting water away from this area for a very long time now, for generations. And Lahaina was actually a wetland," he added. "But, you know, because they needed water for their corporate ventures, like golf courses and hotels and monocropping, that has ended. So the natural form of Lahaina would have never caught on fire. These disasters are anything but natural."
Using the Hawaiian
term for Earth, Ing said on social media Saturday, "You can't claim to care about 'āina, but refuse to fight against the polluters that overheated our planet, warmed the air, and dried out our vegetation—to the point where fires are killing our people."
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Campaigner Blasts Climate-Denying 'Arsonists' as Maui Fires Kill at Least 36
The wildfires offer the latest evidence that President Joe Biden must declare a climate emergency, said one progressive economist.
Aug 10, 2023
With weather experts pointing to unusually dry conditions on the Hawaiian island of Maui that primed the area for the wildfires that have killed at least 36 people so far, climate advocates on Thursday said the devastation offers the latest evidence that U.S. President Joe Biden must declare a national climate emergency.
Major General Kenneth Hara, the top defense official in Hawaii, said early Thursday that the wildfires had been contained, but authorities are still assessing widespread damage, displacement, and loss of life following a disaster that sent residents frantically running into the ocean for safety.
The historic town of Lahaina, once the capital of Hawaii, was decimated by the fires on Wednesday, with its oldest building apparently burned to the ground.
Theo Morrison, the executive director of the Lahaina Restoration Foundation, told The New York Times that the town had "no preparation, no warning, nothing" as the flames—directly fueled by the 80 mile-per-hour winds of Hurricane Dora south of Hawaii and dry vegetation—spread to Lahaina and razed its historic town center in a matter of hours.
Kaniela Ing, a former Hawaii state representative and national director of the Green New Deal Network, expressed grief over the devastating fires and noted that while residents and local authorities were caught off-guard by the fast-moving blaze, U.S. officials have been warned for years that the continued extraction of fossil fuels is making parts of the country drier and hotter and creating conditions in which wildfires can become more damaging.
"My island is on fire. My heart is breaking at the utter devastation these wildfires are causing my friends, family, and community," said Ing in a statement. "The extreme wildfires in Lahaina in this summer of climate disasters are yet more proof that we are in a climate emergency and this crisis is killing us. Our leaders in D.C. passed starting measures to tackle climate change—but we need legislation that is as bold and urgent as the scale of the wildfires choking Hawaii and Canada, the heatwaves suffocating Texas, and the extreme flooding drowning Europe."
Ing suggested that Congress must pass legislation to expand investments in clean energy infrastructure and jobs, but also that Biden can and should act without Congress to significantly reduce the fossil fuel emissions which scientists have said are contributing to extreme heat and wildfires.
"How many more lives lost or families displaced in communities like mine is President Biden willing to tolerate before he declares a climate emergency and activates politicians to take further climate action?" said Ing.
The wildfires devastated Lahaina on the same day that Biden told a reporter on The Weather Channel that "practically speaking," he has already declared a climate emergency by acting to protect some public land from certain types of mining and rejoining the Paris climate agreement.
The "apocalyptic scenes" in Hawaii, said economist Umair Haque, offer the latest proof that "practically" declaring a climate emergency is not enough.
Ing also condemned Republican politicians who continue to deny the existence of the climate crisis and that it's being caused by the fossil fuel industry, including Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who dismissed the call for a climate emergency declaration in a Fox News interview.
"Ron DeSantis, Tim Scott, oil companies, and anyone in power who denies climate change are the arsonists," said Ing. "We are living the climate emergency."
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, more than a third of Maui was experiencing at least a moderate drought as of August 1, and nearly 16% of the island was in a severe drought the day before the flames engulfed parts of the island.
Climate scientist Michael Mann of the University of Pennsylvania said the fires are a "'compound' climate catastrophe"—made worse by the hurricane's rapid winds, which interacted with the "background state" of extreme drought.
Gov. Josh Green, a Democrat, said an immediate issue the island is coping with is the displacement of several thousand people, and asked visitors to leave or cancel nonessential travel to Maui to ensure that hotel rooms and other accommodations are available for people in need of shelter.
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'It's Apocalyptic': Wildfires Engulf Maui, Killing At Least 6
"This is happening too often," said one advocacy group. "We are angry at the fossil fuel companies and greed that enabled these climate disasters, and we are determined to keep fighting for our future."
Aug 09, 2023
Wildfires that rapidly spread across the Hawaiian island of Maui claimed the lives of at least six people on Wednesday, devastating the historic town of Lahaina and forcing some people to jump into the ocean to escape the flames.
"Dangerous fire weather conditions" were created by Hurricane Dora's strong winds as the Category 4 storm traveled south of Hawaii, coupled with dry vegetation and low humidity levels, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
Hawaii Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke told CNN that the disaster has knocked out cellphone and 911 service across the island and quickly led to overcrowding in local hospitals.
"Our hospital system on Maui, they are overburdened with burn patients, people suffering from inhalation," the Democrat said. "The reality is that we need to fly people out of Maui to give them burn support because Maui hospital cannot do extensive burn treatment."
About 14,000 homes and businesses lost power due to the fires.
The Coast Guard told CNN that a dozen people were rescued off the coast of Lahaina after "entering the ocean due to smoke and fire conditions," and were transported to safety.
"Lahaina has been devastated," a resident named Clint Hansen toldCNN. "People jumping in the ocean to escape the flames, being rescued by the Coast Guard. All boat owners are being asked to rescue people. It's apocalyptic."
The Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization toldThe Washington Post that wildfires have become more common in Hawaii in the last century as humans have introduced nonnative grasses and shrubs that have then become "more flammable as climate change brings warmer, drier conditions."
The conditions have contributed to the rapid spread of the flames and made it more difficult for firefighters to control the blaze, Scientific Americanreported.
"The fire can be a mile or more from your house, but in a minute or two, it can be at your house," Jeff Giesea, assistant fire chief of Maui County, said.
The disaster comes as the southwestern U.S. is continuing to face extreme heat and parts of Texas are at risk of fires. Scientists have found that the recent record-breaking temperatures and the heat dome that settled over the Southwest would have been "virtually impossible" without the fossil fuel-driven climate crisis.
"This is happening too often," said environmental legal advocacy group Earthjustice.
Kaniela Ing, a former Hawaii state representative and national director of the Green New Deal Network, called the devastation of Maui "heartbreaking."
"Colonial greed is burning down our home," said Ing. "And it's U.S. politicians and polluters to blame."
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