Free Republic

During the inferno that devastated part of the island of Maui, wiping entire towns off the map and possibly killing more than a thousand people (once a full assessment can be made), people on Maui begged state officials to allow West Maui stream water to be diverted to fill up reservoirs for firefighting. That request went to M. Kaleo Manuel, Deputy Director of Hawaii's Commission on Water Resource Management, and he delayed approval of that water for five hours - five hours in which the once-contained fire exploded. By the time the approval was received, workers were unable to reach...

With wildfires ravaging West Maui on Aug. 8, a state water official delayed the release of water that landowners wanted to help protect their property from fires. The water standoff played out over much of the day and the water didn’t come until too late. The dispute involved the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ water resource management division. DLNR delayed releasing water requested by West Maui Land Co. to help prevent the spread of fire, sources familiar with the situation said. Specifically, according to accounts of four people with knowledge of the situation, M. Kaleo Manuel, a Native Hawaiian...