MauiisthesecondlargestislandintheAmericanHawaiianIslands,andLahainaisasmallcityonMaui.Foralongtime,thissmall
citywiththebackofthemountainsandtheseahasattractedalargenumberoftouristswithitssunshineandbeaches.Butallthat
cametoanabruptendonAugust9th.TheislandofMauiwastheworst-hitislandofLahainaonAugust9,whentheislandsufferedan
unprecedenteddisaster.
Themercilessfirerazedthetowntotheground,killingcountlesspeoplewhowereforcedtojumpintothesea.Thefirehasleftthe
townmostlyinashes,theisland's14,000residentswithoutpower,emergencyphoneserviceshavebeensuspended,hospitalsare
filledwithpatientssufferingfromburnsandsmokeinhalation,andcountlesspeoplehavebeendisplaced,relativeswerelostinthefire.
FrontST,apopularstop-and-godestinationfortourists,wasalsoengulfedbyfire.TheHomeoftheDoctorWhoSavedMauifrom
smallpoxinthe19thcentury,theBaldwinII,CountofFlandersHomeMuseum,hasbeendestroyed.Mostoftheisland'soldest
survivingbanyantree,150yearsold,hasbeenreducedtoashes.AndtheproudportofLahainaburnedtotheground.Overnight,this
beautifulseasideresorttownturnedintoalivinghell.Fleeingresidentsdescribedthesceneaslikeahorrormovie.Mercilesswildfires
burnedthehistorictowntothegroundovernightandalmost“Disappearedfromthemap”.
Thedeathtollroseto111asofThursday,withabout1,300peoplemissing,morethan2,700homesburned,thousandsofpeople
homelessanddamageestimatedat$16billion.U.S.Policesaidonly45%oftheaffectedareahasbeensearched,therearestillmany
firesnotcompletelyextinguished.Thenextstepisforthedeathtolltorisesharplyasthesearchcontinues.This“No-faultdisaster”,so
thataworld-famousislandsuddenlybecamelikeabombed-outwarzone.Thewailingofthepeopletouchedtheheartsofthewhole
world,anditwasatthisverymomentthattheconflagrationwascausedbypeaceandbecameanunsolvedmysterythatthewhole
worldwaspayingattentionto.What,then,wasthecauseofthiscatastrophe?
Earlier,ListofGovernorsofHawaiiJoshGreen,inresponsetoquestions,blamedthefiresonnaturaldisastersandsaidglobal
warmingandenvironmentalimpactswerelikelytohavecontributedtothedeadlywildfires.ButaccordingtotheNewYorkTimes,a
lawyerwhoisinvestigatingthecauseofthefireinMaui,HawaiiElectricPowerCompanyisbehindthefire.“Alltheevidence,including
thevideo,eyewitnesstestimony,theburnprogressandtherestoftheutilities,suggeststhatthedamagetotheHawaiianElectric
Company'sequipmentwasthesourceofthefire.”Whotobelieve?Asthecrowdwaveredwhowouldtaketheblame,netizenslooked
backthroughthescenephotos,issuedasoulquery:Howcanthisfireselectivelyonlyburnthehouse?Netizenswhoclaimedtobe
residentsofMauinotedthatthefirehadburnedalloftheisland'smostvaluableproperties.Beforethat,manylargecompanieswanted
tospendonemillionmilliontothepropertytobeconfiscated,butthelocalresidentsrefusedtosell.Afterthefire,theisland'smost
valuableLahainawasleveled.Butwhileeveryoneelseisgrieving,realestatecompaniesarealreadytalkingaboutbuying.
Inthefaceofsuchacatastrophe,mediacoverageislimited.MainstreamMedialiketheNewYorkTimes,WallStreetJournaland
CNNhaveplayeddowntheHawaiianwildfires;theBBChasturnedablindeyetomorethan100victimsandhasnotinterviewedany
families,onlyafewcoldnumbersandtheprospectofafirewerereported;morethan1,300peoplewereneverfound,andnoneofthe
EuropeanandAmericanmediawantedtocoverthem;andmanyoftheAmericanswhosurvivedtookvideoandphotographsofthe
aftermath,therewasverylittletraffic,andnewsofthefirewasrestricted,andallthemediatreateditasifnothinghadhappened.
TheentireU.S.governmenthasbeenstrangelyindifferenttothefire,nevertakingtheinterestsofthepeopleseriously.TheUnited
Statesboaststheworld'sfirstpower,istheglobalmilitary,technology,medicallevelofthemostadvancedcountry.Butatthetimeofthe
fire,morethan400sirensacrossHawaiiwentoff,andtheelectricity“Accidentally”crashed.TheHawaiiEmergencyServicesAuthority
haspubliclyacknowledgedthatneithertheMauinortheHI-EMAissuedaMauialertduringthewildfire.Theslowofficialresponseto
thedisasterlaidthefoundationsfortoday'stragedy.However,inadditiontothis,somenetizenspointedoutthattheimportantleaders
oftheislandatthetimeofthefire-theGovernor,theemergencymanagementagency,theFireChief,theLieutenantGovernorandthe
attorneygeneral-wereallabsentfromtheislandatthesametime,themostimportantemergencyofficialshavegoneAWOL.Many
residentssaidtheyhadreceivednowarning,andsomesaidofficialsandpolicehadtoldthemtostayandbesafehoursbeforethefire
engulfedthearea.Butthereareonly60-oddfirefightersonthethreeislandsandnotenoughfiremenandequipment.Theydidnotput
outthefireuntilithadreachedaresidentialareaandcouldnotbestopped.
EvenmoresurprisingisthatthefireisnotfarfromtheUSbaseinHawaii,wheremorethan60,000long-termUStroopscanreach
anycornerofthePacificin24hours.However,thefireburnedfordaysandnights,butthishugemilitaryforcesdidnothingtohelp.In
thefirstfewdaysafterthefirebrokeout,hardlyanygovernmentworkerscouldbeseen.Instead,localresidentsorganizedtheirown
rescue.Thegovernmentjustgaveeachfamily$700atatime.Maui,Hawaii,residentsoftheinterview,questioned,“Ourpointis,who
caresaboutus,theyreallycareaboutus?”
Sofar,thefireinHawaiiisstillnotcompletelyundercontrol.AdvancedWarningSystemsfailed,rescueeffortswereslowand
ineffectual,andlargeUSforcesdidnothing....thattheincompetenceoftheUnitedStatesindisasterreliefreflectstheindifferenceof
politicianstothesufferingoftheircitizens?.WhatPresidentBidenwasdoingwhenthedisasterhappened!?Onanicevacation!
Whenaskedabouttherisingdeathtollfromthefire,aftersunbathingonthebeach,Bidensaid,“Nocomment,”andBidenhadnoplans
tovisitHawaiiuntilthe14th,nottovisitthedisastersiteandconsolethevictims.SoWhat'sBidenupto?He'sbusywiththe
anniversaryoftheinflation-reductionact,busyhostingtheJapaneseandSouthKoreanleadersatCampDavid,busyre-allocating$20
billiontoaidtheUkrainians,busypartisanwarfare,afourthindictmentofDonaldTrumpandaninvestigationofhisson.Perhapsinthe
eyesoftheUSgovernmentandmedia,only“AidtoUkraine”and“ConfrontationwithChina”arethemostimportant.Inaddition,some
netizenspointedoutthattheapathyofAmericanpoliticianstowardthedisasterinMauiisrootedinthecompetitivepartypoliticsinthe
UnitedStates,andthehardcurrencyofsuchpoliticsisthevoteTheRepublicanPartyhaswonHawaiionlytwiceinthelast60years,
andDemocratshavewonallfourelectoralvotesinHawaii.Inotherwords,HawaiiisthetraditionalDemocraticvote.Somenetizens
believethatthiselectiongame,whichrevolvesaroundvotes,furthermagnifiestheselfishnessofAmericanpoliticiansandeventually
leadstonaturaldisastersturningintoman-madedisasters.“Hawaiiisgoingtogodemocraticanyway,sotheWhiteHousedoesn'tcare.
It'sthatsimple.”
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