Maui Fire

Do former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama own an estate in Maui, Hawaii, and was that supposed Maui estate "spared from the fires" that affected Maui in early August 2023? No, that's not true: The Obamas do not own an estate in Maui, where the fires primarily spread. Rather, they are reportedly developing a property in Oahu,…

Did the "entire population" of Hawaii chant "Fk (Fuck) Joe Biden" during the president's visit to Maui on August 21, 2023? No, that's not true: A short clip on social media did not show any supposed protesters, and footage of the same event, captured by two news outlets independent of one another, established that nobody was chanting anything during this…

Is this a video of the Vermont Beverly metro station in Los Angeles flooding due to the August 20, 2023, "hurriquake"? No, that's not true: This video is of a tram tour/amusement park ride at Universal Studios Hollywood. The tour simulates what an earthquake would feel like if the person was in an underground subway car. In multiple videos of…

Did U.S. Marines arrest Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Deputy Administrator Erik Hooks? No, that's not true: A Pentagon duty officer told Lead Stories that this claim "is not true." Also, the website where this claim was made has a disclaimer that states it publishes satirical content. The claim appeared in an article published by Real Raw News on August…

Was Hurricane Dora, which passed nearly 500 miles south of Hawaii, too far away to fan the deadly wildfires that killed scores of people on Maui in early August 2023? No, that's not true: The flames that raced across western Maui were driven by a combination of a high-pressure system to the north and Dora, a low-pressure system, to the…

Is there a link between the wildfires that burned on Maui, Hawaii, on August 8, 2023, and a sighting of green lights seen on a January 28, 2023, livestream from the Subaru Telescope on top of Mount Mauna Kea, on the "Big Island" of Hawaii? No, that's not true: While a green laser was sighted for a few seconds from…

Did U.S. Marines "neutralize" a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) convoy on Maui around August 20, 2023? No, that's not true: A Pentagon duty officer told Lead Stories that there's "absolutely no truth to this claim." Also, the website this claim originated from carries a disclaimer stating that it publishes satirical content. The claim appeared in an article published by…

Are insurance companies denying Maui fire losses due to "zoning infractions?" No, that's not true: A Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs spokesman told Lead Stories there have been no reports of claim denials "due to zoning infractions" as of August 18, 2023. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) where it was published on Bitchute on August…

Does a video show former President Donald Trump visiting the Hawaiian island of Maui in August 2023 to comfort survivors of the devastating wildfires there? No, that's not true: The footage of Trump is from 2019, when Trump visited Alabama following a tornado. As of August 19, 2023, he had not visited Maui after its wildfires. The claim appeared in…

Did government officials in Maui pass a law prohibiting new building unless some sort of "serious natural disaster" occurred, thereby raising suspicions about the cause of the deadly August 2023 wildfires on the Hawaiian island? No, that's not true: The claim appears to be referring to legislation that applied to hotels and other so-called transient accommodations. The law did not…