Hawaii Governor Falsely Blames Landlords for Maui Fires
“Housing is at the core of our problems in the state of Hawaiʻi. The fire uncovered a clear truth: which is we have too many short-term rentals owned by too many individuals on the mainland,” stated Governor of Hawaii Josh Green during the launch of his One ʻOhana Fund on February 26. “So, I’d like them to sell to local owners or at least rent long-term to our people so that we can get through these kinds of crises.”
However, there is little evidence to suggest housing is to blame for the Maui fires. As argued in a previous fact-check exploring the role of climate change in the fires, human-made changes to the landscape, from the reversion of former sugar cane farms to invasive grasses also likely contributed to the fire’s spread. “The landscape is just covered with flammable stuff,” one expert told the Times. “All of the conditions just came together.”
Researchers also found drops in power line voltage, which means that the lines were likely spraying sparks onto dry grasses. “It is unambiguous that Hawaiian Electric’s grid experienced immense stress for a prolonged time,” said one analyst. “There were dozens and dozens of major faults on the grid and any one of those could have been the ignition source for a fire.”
Hawaiian Electric also failed to clear flammable grasses from around electric wires. Over the last three years, the electric utility spent less than $250,000 on wildfire prevention. It had a plan, but failed to implement it, noted Lee Fang. The state utility commission allegedly dragged its feet on upgrades to Lahaina’s fire protection, “with a time estimate for wildfire protection upgrades starting this year and completed in 2027.”
A Hawaii state water official, named M. Kaleo Manuel, also delayed the release of water to landowners, who wanted it to prevent fires. “The water standoff played out over much of the day,” reported Stewart Yerton of Honolulu City Beat, “and the water didn’t come until too late.”
Given the complexity underpinning the causality of wildfires, particularly in Hawaii, it is not accurate for Green to attribute the Maui fires to the landlords in the area alone.
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