‘We Are Dealing With Global Warming’: Hawaii Gov Once Again Blames Deadly Wildfire On Climate Change

by Harold Hutchison, Daily Caller, August 31, 2023 

Democratic Gov. Josh Green of Hawaii said Thursday that Hawaii was “dealing with global warming” when asked about claims a power company was to blame for a deadly wildfire.

Maui County filed a lawsuit against Maui Electric Company, Limited, Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., Hawaiʻi Electric Light Company, Inc., and Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. of failing to shut down equipment on Aug. 7, when the National Weather Service issued a “red flag” warning, ABC News reported. The deadly wildfire that destroyed many buildings in the town of Lahaina on Aug. 8, killed at least 115 people and left hundreds missing.

“We will hold everyone accountable and we will be transparent about it. We will release all the reports. I think at the end of the day, we all have to acknowledge that this is a global problem, it was a very hot, dry, terrible storm,” Green told CNN host Jake Tapper. “We are dealing with global warming. We have six total fire emergencies from 1953 to 2003 and then we had six in the first two weeks of this month. So, it’s a disaster waiting to happen because it’s so hot.”

Green has blamed global warming for the devastating wildfire in past interviews.

The West Maui Land Company accused M. Kaleo Manuel, an official with the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), of delaying a response to a request to use water to refill reservoirs used by the Maui Fire Department to fight the wildfire, Hawaii News Now reported.

“We have to deliver services for people. It’s a tragedy beyond anything we’ve experienced. We already have gotten through after 23 days, the recovery phase, and we’ve lost 115 souls but we are starting already to look at the rebuilding,” Green said. “I know people can’t get into their properties, as soon as it is safe, we want people in there so they can get closure.”

Video posted on showed people fleeing into the ocean to escape the fire, which destroyed many cultural artifacts in the city that served as the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii.