Governor of Hawaii hints at cause of Maui fires that went out of control

21 August 2023 , 15:52

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Governor Josh Green of Hawaii said that climate change had "amplified" the critical mistakes made by emergency officials (Image: Kyodo)

The Hawaii governor has partly attributed the carnage that occurred in Maui to climate change in an appearance on CBS "Face the Nation.

Governor Josh Green of Hawaii said that climate change had "amplified" the critical mistakes made by emergency officials, which resulted in a larger death toll, according to Fox News.

Green acknowledged that decisions were made "in the moment" but asserted that the consequences were aggravated by climate change. CBS host Margaret Brennan asked him: “So just to be clear, when you’re talking about global warming, are you saying climate change amplified the cost of human error?” The governor replied: “Yes. It did."

Green cited an instance during the fires when survivors told him how firefighters had to extinguish flames in multiple locations. (Getty Images)

The fires had started on August 8 when an unknown spark quickly set fire to multiple parts of Lahaina. The fires, fueled by a combination of strong winds and dry areas exacerbated by drought conditions, raged until the evening of August 11.

Green added that emergency officials do amazing jobs while making decisions on the fly. However, when dangerous fires that are moving more than a mile a minute wreak havoc on a community, it's impossible to ignore the true cause.

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Green cited an instance during the fires when survivors told him how firefighters had to extinguish flames in multiple locations. According to Green, survivors had told him the other fires had started because of conditions caused by climate change.

“There are no excuses ever to be made, but there are finite resources sometimes in the moment,” Green said on Sunday. The governor said there was a comprehensive review on whether a snapped power line was the culprit for the initial fire but continued to underscore how climate change made the situation worse. However, there were other factors.

The governor said there was a comprehensive review on whether a snapped power line was the culprit for the initial fire but continued to underscore how climate change made the situation worse (AFP via Getty Images)

The West Maui Land Company said it's request to divert water to fight the wildfire was delayed several hours because the Commission on Water Resource had to get clearance from local farmers. Additionally, the utility company Hawaii Electric had underfunded wildfire projects before requesting state permission to raise rates in 2022. However, the company had known since 2019 that more effort was required to prevent power lines from emitting sparks that could cause dangerous wildfires.

The company was instead focused on state-mandated efforts to switch to renewable energy. Green said: “It’s not to excuse anything else from any company. It’s just to explain what the world should prepare for. I humbly ask all of the cities and states to spend that money now to prevent disasters like we are seeing here."

With the Maui wildfires mortality rate currently at 110, Governor Green implored every viewer to accept that climate change is a substantial problem. He cited that Hawaii had six fire emergencies between 1953 and 2003 and pointed to the sweltering weather and fierce thunderstorms.

Mataeo Smith