MAUI: DID “WATER EQUITY” ALLOW 100+ TO BURN TO DEATH?

“Equity” Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

Maui was devastated by a series of fires last week, with the western area of Lahaina most affected.  So far, 111 bodies have been found in the ashes, with over 1,000 still missing.  As the fires were raging the firefighters were denied water with which to fight the flames.

Before the smothering debris had cooled enough to send in cadaver dogs, it came to light that the lack of water was probably not a bureaucratic oversight.  It is likely that M. Kaleo Manuel, Deputy Director of the Hawaii Commission on Water Resource Management (CWRM), kept the water away from residents and firefighters in the name of “equity.”  A 10-month-old, one-minute video has surfaced that shows Manuel discussing his attitude about water:

“My motto has always been: let water connect us, not divide us," he says in the clip, adding that water should be looked at as something to be revered rather than just used.  "We can share it, but it requires true conversations about equity," he adds.

“There was water in the streams while our homes, our businesses, our lands, and our lives were reduced to ash,” according to the manager who requested water.

MANUEL TO FIREFIGHTERS: GET WATER FROM A FARMER

West Maui Land Co. manages three of West Maui's water providers. As the fire was ravaging the island, firefighters had used what little water they had in their reservoirs and tanks, so they asked the CWRM to divert water from streams to enable them to "store as much water as possible for fire control."

Instead of approving the request, Manuel told them if the Maui Fire Department (MFD) wants permission to dip into the reservoirs, they should inquire with a local farmer first to see how a diversion of the water supply would affect him.  The local farmer was burnt out.  Manuel’s approval to divert water from the streams came too late, some five hours after MFD’s first request.

Two days after the fire started the West Maui Land Company sent a letter to CWRM.  It highlights the delay in releasing water that severely hampered firefighters' efforts to tame the raging blaze in west Maui.  The three-page document calls on Manuel to suspend all standard procedures and regulations in case of similar emergencies so that help can be provided immediately in the event of any further blazes.

"We watched the devastation around us without the ability to help," the company wrote in the letter. "We anxiously awaited the morning knowing that we could have made more water available to MFD if our request had been immediately approved."

"We are all devastated. No one is happy there was water in the streams while our homes, our businesses, our lands, and our lives were reduced to ash," the company wrote.

"Now we’re learning that the official who delayed the approval is an Obama Foundation 'Asia Pacific Leader' and a climate activist who believes water should be 'revered' first and foremost," GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy wrote. "The DEI agenda is literally costing people their lives. Hawaii’s Democratic governor, Josh Green, said there are people “fighting against the release of water to fight fires” & that it needs to be explored further. The No. 1 responsibility of government is to protect its citizens. The victims and their families deserve the TRUTH."

Obama was nowhere to be found and Manuel was worshipping water rather than using it to save lives.  Where is the “equity” in allowing hundreds to burn to death?