Anonymous ID: f46259 Aug. 27, 2023, 5:30 p.m. No.19444360   🗄️.is đź”—kun   >>4391 >>4487 >>4509 >>4630 >>4701

Democrats' climate change blame game for Hawaii fire confronted by reality after Maui identifies cause

Aug 27, 2023

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/democrats-climate-change-blame-game-for-hawaii-fire-confronted-by-reality-after-maui-identifies-cause/ar-AA1fQ9vR

 

Hawaiian officials attributed the cause of catastrophic wildfires to alleged failures from the state's main power utility company and downed power lines this week after Democrats blamed the disaster on global warming.

 

In a lawsuit filed Thursday, the government of Maui County, Hawaii, alleged Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) and its subsidiaries failed to properly power down live electrical equipment amid a red flag windstorm earlier this month. Due to this failure, downed power lines operated by the utility company sparked a series of deadly fires on the island, the lawsuit claimed.

 

"The lawsuit alleges that the Defendants acted negligently by failing to power down their electrical equipment despite a National Weather Service Red Flag Warning on August 7th," Maui County said in a release announcing its lawsuit.

 

"The lawsuit further alleges HECO’s energized and downed power lines ignited dry fuel such as grass and brush, causing the fires," the announcement added. "The lawsuit also alleges failure to maintain the system and power grid, which caused the systemic failures starting three different fires on August 8th."

 

EXPERTS THROW COLD WATER ON DEM CLAIMS THAT HAWAII WILDFIRES CAUSED BY CLIMATE CHANGE

 

Maui County argued in the lawsuit that HECO has a duty "to properly maintain and repair the electric transmission lines, and other equipment including utility poles associated with their transmission of electricity, and to keep vegetation properly trimmed and maintained so as to prevent contact with overhead power lines and other electric equipment."

 

However, Democratic lawmakers, a top White House official and Hawaii Gov. Josh Green have all blamed the event, which has claimed the lives of at least 115 people, on human-caused global warming.

 

ENVIRONMENTALISTS ARE BLOCKING FOREST MANAGEMENT METHODS SAVING ICONIC SEQUOIAS AMID YOSEMITE WILDFIRE

 

"This is devastating. This is a climate emergency," Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., an original sponsor of the Green New Deal, wrote in a post on X on Aug. 10. "I stand in solidarity with my friends and colleagues from Hawai’i — we must act fast, provide aid, and invest in a resilient and safe future."

 

"Heartbreaking fires in Hawaii! Scientists are clear that climate chaos wreaking havoc on ecosystems everywhere is the new norm," Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., said in a separate post. "We need to take action immediately or else it will get even worse."

 

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who spearheaded a recent congressional investigation into Big Oil, called on President Biden to declare a "climate emergency" in response to the fires.

 

cont……

Anonymous ID: f46259 Aug. 27, 2023, 5:34 p.m. No.19444391   🗄️.is đź”—kun   >>4509 >>4630 >>4701 >>4723

>>19444360

Maui County sues HECO, alleging negligence over Lahaina fires

Aug 27,2023

https://www.mauinews.com/news/local-news/2023/08/maui-county-sues-heco-alleging-negligence-over-lahaina-fires/

 

The Maui News

The Associated Press

HONOLULU — Maui County sued Hawaiian Electric Company on Thursday over the fires that devastated Lahaina, saying the utility negligently failed to shut off power despite exceptionally high winds and dry conditions.

 

Witness accounts and video indicated that sparks from power lines ignited fires as utility poles snapped in the winds, which were driven by a passing hurricane. The Aug. 8 fires killed at least 115 people and left an unknown number of others missing, making them the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century.

 

Hawaiian Electric said in a statement it is “very disappointed that Maui County chose this litigious path while the investigation is still unfolding.”

 

The lawsuit said the destruction could have been avoided and that the utility had a duty “to properly maintain and repair the electric transmission lines, and other equipment including utility poles associated with their transmission of electricity, and to keep vegetation properly trimmed and maintained so as to prevent contact with overhead power lines and other electric equipment.”

 

The utility knew that high winds “would topple power poles, knock down power lines, and ignite vegetation,” the lawsuit said. “Defendants also knew that if their overhead electrical equipment ignited a fire, it would spread at a critically rapid rate.”

 

A drought in the region had left plants, including invasive grasses, dangerously dry. As Hurricane Dora passed roughly 500 miles south of Hawaii, strong winds toppled at least 30 power poles in West Maui. Video shot by a Lahaina resident shows a downed power line setting dry grasses alight. Firefighters initially contained that fire, but then left to attend to other calls, and residents said the fire later reignited and raced toward downtown Lahaina.