No, the charred carcass of a dog does not prove the Maui fires were caused by energy weapons

Context

On Tuesday, August 8, 2023, wildfires devastated the town of Lahaina on the west coast of Hawaii's Maui island. The fire has resulted in over 100 deaths, and hundreds of others remain unaccounted for, making it one of the deadliest wildfires in U.S. history

Facebook users have since shared footage claiming that it shows the charred carcass of a dog, the result of the wildfires in Maui. Users have asserted that the wildfires could not have caused the dog’s burns. Instead, users claim that the charred carcass is evidence of direct energy weapon (DEW) usage. 

However, while the carcass is in Maui, there is no evidence that DEWs were used on Maui to cause the wildfires.

In fact

An AP News article on the wildfires features the same scene with the charred dog carcass from Maui. An image in the article shows the same dog from a different angle, and other details in the news image, such as the burnt-out vehicles, match those also seen in the footage shared on Facebook. AP explains that the carcass was lying next to the burned cars on Front Street in Lahaina.

Additionally, there is no evidence that the dog was charred by fire or heat from anything but the wildfire. According to a 2019 Scientific American article, the average temperature of a forest fire is 800 degrees Celsius, which is hot enough to melt cameras and cremate a human. The damage the wildfire caused to Lahaina is evident in footage of burned cars and ruined structures. While tragic, it is more than likely that the dog was caught in the flames or surrounding heat as the wildfire spread.

The DEW conspiracy has frequently circulated following the wildfires in Maui, with claims that the wildfires were deliberately caused and not natural. However, there is no evidence to support these claims, and Logically Facts has previously debunked multiple similar claims.

There is no evidence that the wildfires were deliberately caused. The BBC reports that hurricane winds and dry weather helped to spread the fires, and droughts across Hawaii have created conditions that caused vegetation to dry out and become more flammable.

According to NBC news, a team from the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was dispatched to Maui on August 17 to investigate the exact cause of the fire. It is speculated that power lines caused the fire; however, this has yet to be officially confirmed.

Furthermore, according to Euronews, the wildfires in Maui not only impacted the human residents but also their pets. Hundreds of pets are lost, injured, or dead due to the devastating fires and it is estimated that 3,000 animals from Lahaina remain missing. Following the fires, the Maui Humane Society has been treating the wounds and burns of rescued animals at their clinics.

The verdict

There is no evidence that energy weapons caused the wildfires on Maui nor is the charred carcass of a dog evidence of energy weapon usage. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.