Something is Rotten in the State of Hawaii

There are more questions than answers in the aftermath of the terrible “wildfire” in Maui on August 8 that obliterated the entire historic town of Lahaina.

For example: Why were Maui’s vaunted warning sirens never activated to give residents time to flee the flames? Herman Andaya, the administrator of the Maui Emergency Management Agency, told reporters that he decided not to sound the alarm because he thought residents would think a tsunami was coming and run towards the fire instead of away from it. As if people could not see the flames and smell the smoke headed their way.

Why, when Hawaiian Electric officials knew that a severe drought increased the chances of sparking a wildfire, did they not shut down power in the area despite heavy winds from Hurricane Dora that prompted the National Weather Service to issue a Red Flag Warning?

And even more unbelievable, why did the state Department of Land and Natural Resources refuse to release the reservoir water needed to fight the blaze despite an urgent request from the West Maui Land Co., leaving residents totally helpless in the face of the swift-moving flames?

Why were people inexplicably corralled and  the only paved road barricaded by police, with cars full of panicked people literally forced back into the inferno and whole families later found incinerated in their vehicles?

Why were two vehicles that literally melted, with rivulets of melted aluminum (which melts at 1300 degrees Fahrenheit) found in a vacant lot in a residential area that showed no other signs of fire? 

And why did the fire melt cars but not the asphalt underneath?

Why did government officials refuse to allow reporters or residents to enter the fire zone even after the blaze was over? 

Why were drones banned, and why did they erect a black fence around the perimeter of the fire zone?

What happened to hundreds of children who were home because school didn’t begin until the day after the fire broke out? 

What is the real death toll in Lahaina?

Why did Gov. Josh Green tell the United Nations in July that Hawaii would lead the U.S. in enforcing the UN’s Agenda 2030, which includes plans to develop a “smart city” in historic Lahaina? 

Why did displaced residents report that they were being approached by realtors to sell their land even before the investigation into the fire was complete?

And why did President Joe Biden say on network news that he appointed “one of the nation’s leading emergency managers … on the ground in Hawaii since before the fires erupted as our chief federal response coordinator”?

Too many questions, not enough plausible answers. Something is rotten in the State of Hawaii.