As If Deadly Wildfire Not Enough; Maui Faces Land Grabbers, Conspiracy Theorists

Aerial view of a neighborhood destroyed by the
deadly wildfire in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii. Land 
speculators are already contacting victims in
attempts to buy land at cut rate prices 
as an "investment opportunity."

While good people reach out to help the people of Maui begin to recover from the wildfire that killed at least 106 victims, there's always a few bad apples who try, through personal greed or delusions, to make matters worse.   

On top of everything else, Maui is facing people trying to make a quick buck, some by running real estate scams, others by seeking clicks on social media through dubious conspiracy theories.

REAL ESTATE "OPPORTUNITY"

When most people look at the Maui calamity, they see a tragic disaster.  A few soul-less people apparently see it as an exciting investment opportunity. 

As ABC News reports:

"Local officials say outsiders are attempting to take advantage of the tragedy by attempting to purchase damaged home sites from locals who have lost everything. 

Officials expressed concern that residents are being approached about selling residential sites 'by people posing as real estate agents who may have ill intent.'"

Hawaii has the highest housing costs in America, which makes it incredibly difficult for middle income people to buy homes in the best of times. Now, the housing crisis on Maui has gotten exponentially worse. 

Which means if a real estate investor can get their hands on any land in Hawaii, they'll make a killing. 

Even so-called "legitimate" real estate moguls are literally swooping down on the wreckage in Maui like vultures, trying to make a quick buck.

According to the Independent:

"While thousands of people living on the islands are trying to recover and find shelter, investors see an opportunity. In a video posted to Instagrams member of the nonprofit organization Kako'o Haleakala claimed land investors were already calling Lahaina residents who lost their homes, offering to buy their land." 

The Independent noted in was unclear which investors or realtors the Instagram post referred to. 

USA Today has reported on the same issue.  They report:

"Mark Stefl, 67, said he, too, has been approached by developers, and the offer felt like being kicked while he was down."   

This isn't a new phenomenon. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, real estate "investors" swooped into New Orleans to snap up damaged property at bargain basement prices, The same thing happened after western wildfires.

While it is certainly perfectly legal for property owners to sell their land as they choose, these real estate vultures seek to catch people when they are vulnerable in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. This would be at a time that these property owners would understandably find it difficult to make rational decisions.

The real estate vultures know this, and would end up "negotiating" a purchase that leaves the seller with much less money than if they sold under normal circumstances. To be blunt, it's a total ripoff. 

Against this backdrop, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said he's is consulting with the state's attorney general to see if they can place a moratorium on any sale of properties that were damaged or destroyed.

CONSPIRACY WHACKOS

Every time a wildfire or something like this happens, the idiots come out of the woodwork to explain this is all a government plot to do...... I'm not sure. 

In the Maui case, people are posting old photos of events that sort of, kinda look like laser beams setting off explosive fires. 

Contrary to what conspiracy theorists would
have you believe, this is not a energy
weapon starting Maui on fire. It's a refinery
flare creating a light pillar in frigid 
winter air back in 2018.

The most popular conspiracy theory is related to the real estate stuff I cited above.  The whack jobs say the real estate moguls and the "elite" in cooperation with the government, set these fires to allow the rich to conduct a land grab.

As you can see by what I wrote above, it doesn't look like real estate "investors" need expensive government equipment to try and make land grabs. All they  have to do is call or email victims in their attempts. 

The Associated Press offers us some examples of how people use real photos from unrelated events to "prove" their conspiracy.

One photo shows a distant fire with a beam reaching into the sky over it. The wackos say that's another example of the government for some reason launching fiery attacks using weaponized weather modification tactics on Maui. 

The photo is real, the context is not.  The photo actually shows a controlled burn at an Ohio refinery back in 2018. The beam of light is caused by ice crystals in the air creating the beam above the fire, which occurred in the middle of winter. 

Another image supposedly showing another example of the "government weapon" in Hawaii is just a photo of a Chilean electrical transformer exploding during high winds several years ago.  Yet another photo is just an image taken from SpaceX's Instagram account of a 2018 launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in California, notes the Associated Press.  

Of course, my words here will do absolutely zero to discourage the conspiracy theories. I only write about it to say buyer beware. And OK, to mock the conspiracists a little bit.