Maui Fires: A Perfect Storm of Government Incompetence

The wildfires that have torn apart the island of Maui have been called a freak accident and blamed on global warming, but in fact the conditions for this disaster were laid long ago through a series of bad decisions from government regulators. The unintended consequences from policies designed to reduce housing costs and promote green energy set up conditions where abandoned farms were untended and overgrown with highly flammable, invasive grass, while the island’s electrical grid remained dangerous and poorly maintained. Combine that with a confused and badly coordinated response from local officials, and we’re left with a situation that needlessly cost hundreds, and maybe even thousands of lives.