Exposing the Three Major Disadvantages of American Society, International Bureau: Hawaii Wildfire Crisis and Wildfire | USA | Wildfire

On August 18th, China News Agency reported that the crisis caused by the wildfire on Maui Island in Hawaii, USA, is still ongoing. Currently, the country's worst wildfire in a century has caused 111 deaths, thousands of buildings have been destroyed, and the famous seaside resort town on the island - La Haina Town - is almost non-existent.

Behind the raging wildfires and devastating damage, it precisely exposes the three major drawbacks of American society: the inability of public utilities, the government's inadequate response, and the disregard for public safety.

Former US President Trump criticized, "Sadly, this fire should not have happened at all, the US government is not prepared, and most importantly, the consequences are very bad."

Inability of public utilities:

The cause of the fire or involvement of the power company

According to The New York Times, preliminary reports suggest that sparks generated by the wires operated by the local power supplier, Hawaii Electric Power Company, may have caused a fire.

According to CNN, Robert Marshall, CEO of Whisker Labs, a data collection and analysis company for the US power grid, 122 short circuits were detected on the local public power grid on the night of the fire, and one of the short circuits could potentially generate sparks and trigger the fire.

Hawaii Power Company spokesperson Jim Kelly refused to respond to Whisker Labs' investigation results.

At the same time, the Hawaiian Power Company is facing increasing questioning for not cutting off power before strong winds hit.

At present, three legal companies have filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of the victims against Hawaiian Power Company, accusing the company of not cutting off power before strong winds hit. A substation under the company had previously experienced a collapse of power lines, and the incident occurred near the initial ignition point.

The New York Times reported that state and local officials have not yet determined the cause of the fire, but the conditions of the fire are similar to wildfires caused by power equipment in other parts of the United States: dry shrubs, strong winds, and aging infrastructure.

Analysis indicates that multiple fatal fires in the United States were caused by the blowing down of utility poles or other buildings carrying electrical wires, or by other wire failures leading to fires.

In addition, Maui Island experienced multiple power outages during the fire crisis, causing many residents to be unable to receive emergency alerts from the authorities through their mobile phones. According to the Associated Press, Hawaii Governor Green has stated that after the fire, about 2000 households and businesses in the region suffered from power outages.

Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez stated on the 11th that she will conduct a comprehensive review of key decisions and long-term policies before, during, and after the wildfires in Maui and the Hawaiian Islands.

Inadequate government response:

Ignoring warnings and dealing with lagging responses

As the death toll from the Hawaiian fire rises, local residents are accusing the government of inadequate response to the large-scale fire.

On the morning of the 9th, the historic coastal town of La Haina on Maui Island was almost completely destroyed by a rapidly spreading fire, and survivors stated that they had not received any warning.

The Los Angeles Times pointed out that there is ample evidence to suggest that Hawaiian government officials should be aware of the wildfire risks facing Maui Island. This is not the first time a fire accident has occurred on Maui Island, and the Maui Island Disaster Reduction Plan has also issued warnings for past storms. However, the previous wildfires did not cause any fatalities, which may have led to complacency among Hawaiian officials.

The report also stated that the authorities actually have more time to issue warnings. According to a statement released on social media on the 8th by Maui Island, on the day of the fire, firefighters had approximately 9 hours to respond from the "fire" to the "obvious outbreak" of the fire. But the firefighters have not yet revealed what happened during this critical period.

Local officials did not explain why they did not immediately order a city wide evacuation after reporting the first fire in La Haina this morning, especially considering the existence of fire weather conditions. Many local residents have stated that they did not receive advance evacuation warnings.

According to the report, Hawaii described the risk of wildfires to local residents as "low" in its emergency management plan for 2022.

The media and local residents criticized Herman Andaya, the director of the Maui Island Emergency Management Bureau, for his inadequate response to the accident. But Andaya expressed no regret for the decision not to activate the alarm when the fire threatened more than 12000 residents in Lahaina town. On the 17th, Andaya announced her resignation citing health reasons.

Lopez stated in a written statement on the 17th that she will assign a private third-party agency to participate in the investigation of the deadly wildfire and review the actions taken by state and county officials at the time.

According to the Congressional Hill, the White House is facing widespread criticism due to President Biden's vacation during the devastating fire on Maui Island and his refusal to comment.

Former US President Trump bluntly stated, "The US government is not prepared for this disaster, and Biden's refusal to comment on the tragedy of Maui is' shameful '."

Neglecting public safety:

The human rights of indigenous peoples are not guaranteed

The New York Times pointed out that the fire also exposed Hawaii's shortcomings in resisting the impact of meteorological disasters, and pointed out issues such as lack of local building standards and outdated infrastructure, making the state more vulnerable to wildfire attacks.

Analysis suggests that the state lacks building standards to protect local buildings from wildfires, such as requiring the use of refractory materials and construction techniques, or maintaining a space free of flammable vegetation around buildings.

Green issued an order in July to prevent the state from adopting stricter new standards for buildings, stating that "this is necessary to address the severe housing shortage in the area.".

Michelle Steinberg, Director of the Wildfire Department of the National Fire Service, said that in the United States, it is common to refuse to adopt strict building code standards on the grounds of affordability, even at the cost of sacrificing public safety.

In addition, the Guardian of the UK pointed out that the local industry's profiteering economy has further deprived the drought prone state of Hawaii of its water storage capacity, exacerbating the outbreak of this fire crisis.

Analysis shows that the waters of Maui Island have been exploited for over a century. In the local area, large corporations and real estate developers, as vested interests, have been demanding and consuming natural water from indigenous ecosystems by creating large plantations, luxury residential areas, luxury resort hotels, and golf courses. Now, this fire may lead to more destructive water theft.

Until now, many indigenous people of Maui still do not have water to meet their basic needs, including drinking water, laundry, and traditional crop irrigation. According to reports, it is common for streams flowing through valleys to be diverted to serve luxury residential areas locally, resulting in many indigenous families being unable to access the local water supply pipes, fire hydrants, and paved roads to help them escape the fire.

The analysis points out that the climate emergency has deepened the tense relationship between local indigenous people and capital merchants, and also intensified the war between the two sides over scarce water resources, including critical firefighting water. Green acknowledges that "water resource management" is the main culprit behind the insufficient water for firefighting in this disaster.