We have been covering the horrible wildfire in Maui and its aftermath. We are horrified to see our fellow Americans die this way and we pray for everyone involved or impacted.
Now we get word that maybe the wildfire could have been controlled … if Deputy Director M. Kaleo Manuel of the Hawaii Commission on Water Resource Management had essentially allocated the water the firefighters needed:
A delay in state permission to use West Maui stream water may have led to hampering firefighters in their battle to save Lahaina town from last week’s horrific wildfire.
— Star-Advertiser (@StarAdvertiser) August 16, 2023
More: https://t.co/YwOlZ8qGE9 #HInews #StarAdvertiser #MauiFires
From the article:
On the day after the fire, the West Maui Land Co. Inc. sent a letter to Deputy Director M. Kaleo Manuel of the Hawaii Commission on Water Resource Management, or CWRM, describing the events and communication problems that resulted in delaying the diversion of streams to fill reservoirs with water being made available to fight the fire….
According to the letter, although the initial fire was contained at 9 a.m., there were reports of fallen power lines, fierce winds, outages and low reservoir levels, prompting the company to reach out to the commission to request approval to divert more water from streams so it could store as much water as possible for fire control.
Instead of approving the request, CWRM asked the company whether the Maui Fire Department had requested permission to dip into the reservoirs and directed it to first inquire with the downstream user to ensure that his loi and other uses would not be impacted by a temporary reduction of water supply.
Communications were spotty, the letter said, and the company had already tried unsuccessfully to contact the one downstream user.
By around 3:30 p.m., a flare-up had shut down the Lahaina Bypass.
‘At around 6:00 p.m., we received CWRM’s approval to divert more water,’ Tremble wrote. ‘By then, we were unable to reach the siphon release to make the adjustments that would have allowed more water to fill our reservoirs.
‘We watched the devastation unfold around us without the ability to help. We anxiously awaited the morning knowing that we could have made more water available to MFD if our request had been immediately approved,’ he said.
There were reports of the fire moving so quickly and at such temperatures that water was spewing out of melting pipes and depressurizing the lines that also supplied the fire hydrants.
Tremble’s letter said it is unknown whether filling the reservoirs at 1 p.m. would have ultimately made a difference.
But ‘we know that fires spread quickly. We know that we need to act faster during an emergency. We know that the community we serve relies on the water as a defense from spreading fire. We know that we must have water available for MFD before MFD needs it. We know we can do better. We’re all in this together.’
In short, they needed to have water available in case of a flare up. They didn’t get that water, and there was a flare up. Maybe they could have stopped that flare up with sufficient water, but they didn’t get the chance to find out because of this.
Oh, and M. Kaleo Manuel? As promised, here is video of him explaining that his approach to water-management is essentially faith-based:
Hawaiian official M. Kaleo Manuel refused to release water in Maui as the fire raged
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) August 16, 2023
Manuel is deputy director of the Department of Land and Natural Resources
Here he is explaining that water should be revered, not used:pic.twitter.com/iZ6PvghwqN
Now, to be fair to Manuel, he appears to be talking about his water management philosophy in general, and he is not speaking to what he did during the wildfire. We would guess this was filmed before the fire.
And you never know, maybe he just spews this stuff for political purposes, but when it comes time to do his job, none of these things enter his mind. Still, it is also reasonable to wonder if his faith influenced any potential response, and it is a question that should be asked of him.
Still, this got more than a little dragging:
One hundred percent.
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) August 17, 2023
Wtf did I just listen to
— George Alexopoulos (@GPrime85) August 17, 2023
1. They failed to sound the alarm and warn citizens of the danger
— The Conservative Alternative (@OldeWorldOrder) August 16, 2023
2. They deliberately decided to not fully contain the fire
3. Joe Biden has literally done nothing to help our fellow citizens
This is the biggest government failure since Katrina.
Sure, it looks like it is as bad as Katrina, but it's (D)ifferent.
Uh, isn’t Maui an island surrounded by water? 🤔
— Rebecca V-Devoted Reality Believer (@RebeccaAVelo) August 16, 2023
I live in the desert WE rever water because we don’t have any. Weird to not want to use water when you’re literally surrounded by it.
To be fair, its surrounded by ocean water and the water the firefighters wanted to use sounds like fresh water and humans can only drink the latter. We don’t pretend to know what challenges there are in water management in Hawaii.
“You see if I pass this water through these media filters and reverse osmosis units, it’s actually good to use for whatever you want”
— Oilfield Rando (@Oilfield_Rando) August 17, 2023
“NO EVIL YOU ARE EVIL MAN YOU DESECRATE THE WATER AND ANGER THE GODS I SMASH YOUR DEVIL EQUIPMENT NOW” https://t.co/4Ztlm86o1m
Is he like, saying its better people burn to death and houses burn down than use water to put out fires?
— Brian Cates - Political Columnist & Pundit (@drawandstrike) August 17, 2023
Because it sounds like he's saying... https://t.co/KJ7ZEBddHN
It's looking more and more like the human tragedy that unfolded in Hawaii was the direct result of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in government.
— Mike Belcher (@MikeBelcher14) August 17, 2023
This is what neoCommunism leads to. Inverting hierarchies based in competence guarantees incompetence. https://t.co/okfG2VP2Uv
"NeoCommunism" is a pretty good term.
So Maui truly was a bunch of climate change deaths. Not bc of winds or whatever, but bc they’ve indoctrinated government with this lunacy and they’re actively second degree murdering people. https://t.co/w0WqkJrLUW
— 🇺🇸 ~ 𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐧 ~🎙️ (@RogueLou18) August 17, 2023
Is this why hoses and fire hydrants stopped working when people tried to quell the flames? 😳#LahainaFires #Lahaina #maui #MauiFire #hawaii https://t.co/TASjqrpWNI
— UziBallet (@UziBallet) August 17, 2023
Maybe? We admit to being a little out of our depth on this.
“…and that reciprocity in relationship.…”
— The Panic (@ThePanic16) August 17, 2023
Put down the bong for a minute, Manuel. https://t.co/AsxCjo9D0s
*laughs*
Gonna have to read a little extra today to make up for how much dumber I am after having watched this man speak. https://t.co/iSIjhiw1rN
— Woody P, Professional Designation® (@woodypanama) August 17, 2023
It’s a real occupational hazard for our writers.
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