The 2023 Maui wildfires

From early August 2023 the islands of Hawaii have been experiencing wildfires, particularly on the island of Maui. The fires on Maui have been described as the worst wildfires in terms of casualties since 1918, with the fire in Cloquet, Minnesota having held the record up till now. Thus far over 100 people have been documented as having died in the fires with over 1300 missing. Figures vary, but the ferocity of the fires was contributed to by high winds, sometimes gusting to 60 mph, coming from hurricane Dora located far to the south of the islands. There is much to this story, which is one of government incompetence or even malfeasance, with many hard questions going unanswered. For more, read on…

The Hawaiian Islands have been experiencing a very dry season with elevated temperatures. The conditions were such that wildfires were easily kindled and spread. The present fires have been blamed on the combination of downed power lines due to the high winds from Hurricane Dora, along with the winds themselves. Of course, one always gets the conspiracies about how the fires started, not to discount any possibility. And as we’ve seen with Australian and American wildfires, the factor of arson cannot be discounted.

As stated above, the worst affected island in the Hawaiian chain has been the island of Maui. Conditions on Maui are listed as being those of extreme drought. The town of Lāhainā was destroyed by the fires. As to the conditions on the day, Wikipedia has the following entry:

“In June 2014, the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization, a nonprofit organization, prepared a Western Maui Community Wildfire Protection Plan which warned that most of the Lāhainā area was at extremely high risk for burning. In Maui County’s 2020 Hazard Mitigation Plan, the county identified Lāhainā, the most heavily impacted community in the August fires, as lying within a high risk zone for wildfire.

In its monthly seasonal outlook on August 1, 2023, the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) forecast “above normal” potential for significant wildland fires for Hawaii in August, concentrated on the islands’ leeward sides. In addition to noting plentiful vegetation growth from the previous wet season and the expanding drought, the NIFC mentioned that “tropical cyclones can also bring windy and dry conditions depending on how they approach the island chain and can exacerbate fire growth potential”.

Wind direction and gusts for the 8^th of August are shown in the diagram below (bigger):

Maui is the 2^nd-largest island in the Hawaiian island chain, in the diagram above, the largest island just above the Big Island. We see the island was in one of the zones for the highest wind speeds. Recounting of events from people who survived the fires are horrible – people being told to shelter in place as the fires approached, cars lined up to leave and being prevented from doing so with those people being left to their fate, people fleeing into the ocean to avoid the heat and flames (of those there were around a hundred) the lack of government response to the emergency, the suddenness and ferocity of the event, and so on. People who experienced the Camp Fire in California a few years ago can relate – Paradise lost. There were many similarities between the two events.

What does the chart of the event regarding proceeding then? We do not have a precise time for this event other than that the main fire that destroyed the town started around 3:30 in the morning local time. Instead we look at the directions and transits to the state of Hawaii which was incorporated, or assigned to federated statehood on August 21^st 1959. This has relevance because of the actions of the government in Hawaii during and after the event. The chart is below (bigger):

There was a particular midpoint that was in effect from 1^st of August to about the 10^th of August which played a big part in the world events during that period. That is shown to the left of the chart, which is the Uranus=Mars/Pluto midpoint. It reads as follows, with the salient descriptors:

Ura=Mars/Plu; Cruelty, violence, brutality. – Sudden disasters or calamities of great consequence.

On the chart, we see transiting Uranus opposite natal Jupiter and the directed Mars. With the involvement of natal Jupiter, this was no small event. Considering the midpoints which Jupiter forms, especially the Uranus/Pluto and the Sun/Uranus midpoints, and the Mars direction, disaster was indicated when transiting Uranus activated the lot.

In addition we see directions to the natal Moon, ruling the 10^th house (the sitting government). Transiting Uranus was semisquare natal Moon, activating the directions of Mars and Neptune to the natal Moon. Although not a midpoint, the combination of the directions with the Uranus transit has the following characteristics: “Changing energy-levels, states of weakness emerging suddenly, sudden disadvantages caused through lack of energy, a crisis in life, an illness or an accident.”

The Ascendant at 3:30 in the morning was square natal Mars, and there is also a Mars return on the day, which had been in effect, approaching for about a week beforehand, signifying the dry and hot conditions.

Then we see the directed Saturn opposite the natal Pluto, combined with transiting Sun on the natal Uranus. The transit to the natal Uranus signifies the suddenness of the event, with the preceding transits and directions showing the ferocity of the event, along with the suddenness of it. The direction of Saturn pointed to self-destructive energy, the application of force, and the loss of one’s fortune or possessions, noting that Saturn rules the fourth house of infrastructure and home. Over 2000 structures were lost in the fire, with many people losing everything they had.

Then, we look at the transits to the natal Sun (leadership in general) on the day and we see a yod with the Sun as the apex planet and Neptune and Pluto as the base planets, pointing to leadership being influenced or succumbing to ‘strange influences’. The Sun, representing leadership, was said to be lacking at the very least at the height of the fire, and exhibiting strange behavior at the worst. For example, the Emergency Services Chief, Andaya, had no experience with emegency management, but was chosen for his job over 40 people who did have such expereience. On the day of the fire he was away at a meeting on another of the islands and didn’t return until the following day. Why was he not on the job? It is said Emergency Management Agency is a ‘good ‘ol boy’ network, so nepotism appears to be a factor in the poor responses of the authorities.

Basically, the relevant authorities were asleep at the wheel, off daydreaming somewhere. That is what the locals reported. This has given rise to questions that this fire had been planned to the effect that it would become a land grab after the fact. In light of that yod, the Sun being central to any chart, many questions are being asked. From a tweet, there is the following:

Why aren’t you asking more questions?

Valid questions, all. There are a few probably obvious answers to some of them. The answer to the first two is now universal across the neoliberal world – cost-cutting. Hawaiian Electric, which is owner of the electrical utility for Maui, is a publicly traded company, meaning shareholders are all-important and profit is king. With everything being privatized these days the name of the game is maximizing profits for the shareholders. Maintenance is a cost, cutting into profits. After the fire a class action suit has been filed against the company pending investigations, alleging neglect and ‘conscious indifference’ (another term for neglect) as the main cause of the fires. The company’s share price plummeted 73% as a result:

“On August 15, Hawaiian Electric was facing being delisted from the NYSE, as S&P Global downgraded Hawaiian Electric and all of its affiliated subsidiaries to BB-, commonly known as a ‘junk’ investment grade. On August 17, Hawaiian Electric was in talks of restructuring completely via filing for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection reorganization due to the growing amount of lawsuits related to the Maui wildfires potentially costing more than how much the entire company has in assets and liabilities. Due to this, its stock plummeted an additional 20%, and so far, it’s stock has plummeted approximately 73% in all of 2023.”

Those assets include a bank. So, aside from human casualties, the electric utility is also one. So, what exactly caused the fires? Other than the official narrative there are three main possibilities, the final one being the official narrative. The first scenario runs something along these lines:

If anyone believes that scenario they need to turn off the TV, turn off the computers, the telephones and get out more into nature. There’s way too much Hollywood in that scene, maybe helped by some magic mushrooms. There are many problems with that scenario, too.

The first problem with the first scenario is space-based lasers powerful enough to start such fires from over 100 miles out in space have yet to be developed. There are lasers used in space, but they are used for communications between satellites and ground-based communications (the vacuum of space provides no interference or obstruction to the light beams) and for measuring wind velocities on Earth using the Doppler effect.

Another problem with the space laser theory is with the images purported to show such beams being directed at Maui. Well, the Israelis apparently have their own space laser. They wanted to use it to kill Santa Claus. Otherwise, one photo is of a SpaceX Iridium rocket being launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in 2018. The other is the result of lens flare from a transformer explosion in Chile in May of this year. If one carefully steps through the frames of that video one can see the initial explosion – caused by high winds and limbs falling on the power lines, wouldn’t you know? – after which the intensity of the light from the explosion causes the lens flare. Once the explosion dies down a bit the ‘beam’ disappears. Photographers can verify the phenomenon. What, you don’t believe the debunking of the photos? OK. It was the Death Star™. Go back to sleep. A little research, people…

Or…there is this scenario:

The same donor calls up Sleepy Joe with the same request. This time instead of calling SPACECOM, Joe calls up the local operatives on Maui (there are CIA operatives in Maui, you know? Your average men in black…) and have them ‘arrange an event’. So, the local operatives ‘call in a favor’ from a local firebug (the guy needs to avoid prison time for previous fires), telling him to get in his Toyota pickup, drive out in the middle of the night close to the downed power lines, light up some trash and throw it in the vicinity, making it look like the downed power lines caught the trash on fire. No one will be the wiser. That scenario is a little more plausible, and a lot less expensive than the Death Star™.

But…then there is another possible scenario:

The fires were caused by severe drought conditions, high winds, with downed power lines igniting the tinder below. If I were a betting man, I would put my money on the latter scenario, although the previous one is still a possibility, with variations. There are many reasons why this latter one would be so, but we probably don’t need to go into them. Ockham’s razor and a little common sense will do just fine in that regard.

Just to tidy up other theories, we cannot leave Oprah and other billionaires out of the picture. Oprah bought 2,000 acres on the island back in March, so they say. The figure was actually 850 acres, but who’s counting? She bought them from a ranch that was selling off parcels. There are claims she is buying up properties and pricing out the locals. Who else owns properties on Maui, you might ask? – Bill Gates, Morgan Freeman, Lady Gaga, Juia Roberts, Will Smith and Jeff Bezos, for a few examples. Why not, if one can afford it. But a curious thing is their properties were not touched by the fire. Maybe it is because they can pay for the land management, while the locals are left to the good graces of the county. I don’t know. However, Oprah’s purchase does raise real concerns indigenous people are being priced off the island. After the fires the governor, Josh Green had advised state’s attorneys to warn off out-of-state buyers and vulture investors from trying to circle the remains of the town and gobble up the properties, which would price out the locals. Looters and speculators had already started to move into the town just days after the fire.

It is claimed on social media the governor had plans to raze the island and for the state to buy up the land in order to implement a plan for a ‘smart city’ or ‘15-minute city’. Lāhainā is a historic landmark, having been the seat of the Kingdom of Hawaii before it was annexed by the US. One would think there would be an effort to preserve the history of the Hawaiian Islands. The ‘smart city’ theory makes about as much sense as aliens having caused the fire. (Aliens do prefer to visit the US and UK, however.) But then, the governor also says he wants to acquire land to preserve it for local residents. The governor’s words were taken out of context and sensationalized on social media. You can hear his full statement in a local news video instead of the shortened one that appears in social media,

But enough about causes and conspiracies. There are some strange things going on about the fires, mostly relating to a cover-up of the scope of the tragedy (5,000 missing and from 1,000 – 2,000 dead) and the failures of the authorities to react. The Chief of Police refuses to let people into the area while recovery efforts are ongoing, especially news reporters who are desperate for ‘a story’. This chief of police was also the lead investigative captain at the Las Vegas shooting. But residents know the officials are lying about the death toll and the missing. You can read first-person accounts attesting to it.

And then there is a strange piece about a book that came out describing the events – on the 10^th, two days after the start of the fire. The book goes into details about events from the 8 – 11 of August. Amazon has pulled it. But as of this writing it is still available at Barnes and Noble. You can go to the WayBack Machine and still find the Amazon posting. Note the publication date in particular. The book is full of climate change propaganda. It has also raised not a few eyebrows, leading enquiring minds to question – was this all planned and just a big scam? Well, here’s a description from the Amazon capture, bolded bits added for emphasis:

“…a gripping and eye-opening account of one of the most devastating wildfires in Hawaii’s history, and how it reveals the urgent need to address the global climate crisis. The book chronicles the events of August 8-11, 2023, when a massive fire swept across the island of Maui, fueled by drought, heat, and hurricane winds. The book describes the harrowing experiences of the people who lived through the fire, as well as the heroic efforts of the firefighters and rescuers who battled the flames. The book also examines the causes and consequences of the fire, both locally and globally, and how it exposes the vulnerability of our society and our planet to the impacts of climate change.”

Indeed, it is a gripping account, but for all the wrong reasons. “It describes the harrowing experiences”…Perhaps Dr. Miles Stones is clairvoyant and could read the future. Or perhaps ‘he’ is simply AI. Or CIA. Or maybe…an alien. (That Death Star™ theory would make a good Hollywood film, you think? Maybe AI-generated?) The event was certainly ‘a milestone’ (Get it?) for Hawaii. The name of the ‘author’ is rather suspicious, too, as in AI has reached a milestone in terms of writing and publishing books. Always check your sources.

In the preceding we have had a bit of satire and a poke at the theories about the fire that levelled Lāhainā. In all seriousness, however, this fire will likely result in it taking the record for the deadliest fire in the US in over a century, with at least probably many hundreds of people having died that day. Many of those missing may never be found. Lāhainā will probably be rebuilt, but it would never be the same. It will be redeveloped, most likely, and lose the charm it once had.

It will take months to sift through the devastation and to discover the true causes of the fire, though the causes were most likely those stated officially. At the moment we are at the stage of finger-pointing, seeking to assign blame and ducking for cover for those who may be at fault. But there is a wider story.

The federal response to the fire was even more insulting to the residents of Maui, and to the American people in general. The Biden administration allocated a one-time payment of $700 USD – half of a monthly old-age pension (Social Security payment). That might buy a few gallons of milk for a week or two. Then what? Any further relief for Hawaii was tacked on to a $24 billion+ ‘aid package’ to Ukraine, so members of Congress had to vote for the Ukraine ‘aid’ (donors for re-election in the US and to the Zelenskyy regime) if they wanted any disaster relief for Hawaii. It seems FEMA is running out of money. Too many disasters, too little money. Just another day in Congressional politics. Once again we see leadership asleep at the wheel and endemic corruption in American politics.

Biden himself visited the site of the fires and the local residents saluted him as his convoy arrived — two weeks after the fact, in similar manner to Trump’s visit to Puerto Rico two weeks after it was devastated by a hurricane. Trump was throwing paper towels to the victims, his version of ‘clean-up’, we might suppose. For Biden’s visit he told some lame (false) story about a fire at his house (a small one with no consequences, though his ’67 Corvette was saved) along with commenting to a resident about how hot the sand was. At a reception for the victims he was seen apparently falling asleep during the proceedings, though other comments mentioned he was bowing his head in reverence. This is what passes for disaster relief from the federal government in the US.

New Orleans after Katrina from years ago is still in process of being rebuilt, especially in the 9th ward. The city itself has been gentrified. Most likely Lahaina will follow suit. And the water in East Palestine in Ohio is still unfit to drink. When it comes to disasters in the US, American communities are on their own.

This tragedy was one caused by a lack of care, lack of oversight, a lack of land management – a story Australians know all-too-well – and of passing the buck. That is fully in evidence. Neoliberalism (profits over people, stock buybacks over investment in infrastructure) played far more of a role in this – a fire that didn’t need to and shouldn’t have happened, had there been enough oversight – than did climate change. The full story will eventually come out. Meanwhile Hawaii bleeds and grieves, as does America. God-speed to the souls who have passed on. May they find peace. To those who lost loved ones and those who just survived, may you see justice done soon, and peace and closure for yourselves.

Featured pic from NBC News