What’s Happening:

News continues to pour in from Hawaii about a wildfire that has afflicted the island of Maui for days. Numerous citizens have been displaced as rescue workers battle to contain the spreading blaze. Estimates on the damage dealt have been upwards of tens of billions of dollars.

Both state officials and federal agencies have placed the blame for the wildfire on climate change. A new report has been released by the Wall Street Journal, outlining how the biggest power supplier in the state spent resources to combat climate change. What it did not do, however, could be directly related to the fire.

From Breitbart:

The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Hawaiian Electric, the biggest power supplier in the state, focused on shifting to renewable energy sources to combat climate change, rather than spending money to address fire risk around its power lines…

The Journal reported that suspicion is rapidly focusing on Hawaiian Electric’s power lines, which are suspended from telephone poles, many of which were downed in the wind, and some of which were seen sparking in the hours before the wildfire spread.

A new report by the WSJ has highlighted Hawaiian Electric’s neglect of its vulnerable power lines. Most of the company’s power lines are suspended by telephone polls. These are susceptible to storm winds. Witnesses state that downed power lines were seen sparking just before the wildfire spread.

The cause of the wildfire is still unknown. It might be months, perhaps years before official data is collected and released. Wildfires that had gripped the West Coast in recent years had been caused by arson and other human activities.

Hawaiian Electric is now in the spotlight, as the Wall Street Journal explained. The company devoted money toward advancing “green” technology to battle climate change. This was to comply with state energy mandates. But it is being learned it had not devoted “significant resources” to addressing the risk of wildfires from downed power lines.

According to sources, the company was going to spend $200 million on “wildfire mitigation.” Before the Maui fire began, it had only spent $245,000. This was due to a stalled bureaucracy within the state. Hawaiian Electric did not have delays, however, in advancing its climate agenda.

To date, the Maui wildfires have resulted in over 100 lost lives.

Key Takeaways:

• New reports indicate that Hawaii’s biggest electric company neglected wildfire risks.
• The company spent considerable resources investing in “green” technology.
• The wildfires could have been started by downed power lines owned by HE.

Source: Breitbart