{"id":284432,"date":"2023-10-22T10:59:04","date_gmt":"2023-10-22T08:59:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=284432"},"modified":"2023-10-22T10:59:07","modified_gmt":"2023-10-22T08:59:07","slug":"paradise-lost-wildfires-were-deja-vu-all-over-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=284432","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Paradise Lost\u2019 \u2013 Wildfires Were \u2018D\u00e9j\u00e0 Vu All Over Again\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Why does journalists and climate activists immediately blame \u201cclimate change\u201d in both fires before the fire investigations were even started? This is eco- socialism propaganda.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Note: This editorial was originally in the queue to be published in a prominent newspaper, but the editor somehow forgot about it after I submitted it. While it is a little late in the news cycle, the facts remain unchanged and relevant. \u2013 Anthony<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The title is with apologies to John Milton and Yogi Berra, who surely would have something to say about these dual tragedies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In November 2018, a massive wind-driven wildfire destroyed the town of Paradise, California<\/a>. I experienced it firsthand, watching the plume from relative safety and later comforting friends and co-workers who lost homes, and nearly their lives. Eighty-five people did, some who I knew. It was an unparalleled tragedy \u2013 until August 2023, when the town of Lahaina in Maui burned to the ground and at least 115 people died<\/a>. The weather events, fire conditions, and human folly that led up to the Maui fire were nearly identical to what happened in Paradise. It reminded me of what British Prime Minister Winston Churchill famously said in a 1948 speech, \u201cThose that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some journalists<\/a> and vocal climate activists<\/a> were quick to immediately blame \u201cclimate change\u201d in both fires before the fire investigations were even started, much less completed. A detailed analysis<\/a> by meteorologist Cliff Mass, PhD., of the University of Washington shows that the Maui fire was a perfect storm of a high wind weather event, predicted days ahead, combined with a high fuel load due to dry invasive grasses. The same scenario<\/a> was the setup for the 2018 Paradise Campfire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In both fires, power lines and high winds were the ignition source and the driver. In both fires, dry high fuel loads contributed to the intensity of the fires. In both fires, there were ample warnings in weather forecasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other common denominator in both fires was the institutional failure of electric utility companies. Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) in California and Hawaii Electric both were pursuing green energy plans to satisfy climate advocates and investors instead of paying attention to basic maintenance of their electrical power lines. The Paradise Campfire was blamed on PG&E ignoring maintenance on century-old power lines<\/a>, which broke and sparked in a high-wind event. With video and data showing Maui power lines sparking during high winds<\/a>, Hawaiian Electric is now the focus for lack of maintenance in favor of green projects. The Wall Street Journal,<\/em> in their article Hawaiian Electric Knew of Wildfire Threat, but Waited Years to Act,<\/a> noted, \u201cFour years ago, the utility said it needed to do more to prevent its power lines from emitting sparks. It made little progress, focusing on a shift to clean energy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The WSJ reporters also discovered Hawaiian Electric had plans to spend nearly $190 million on wildfire mitigation measures on Maui, but spent less than 1.3 percent of that \u2013 just $245,000. The wildfire plan was delayed by company bureaucracy. In the meantime, the company focused on\u00a0green energy climate goals<\/a>, instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n