An ABC News investigation has uncovered missed opportunities to prepare for fire danger on the Hawaiian island of Maui before the Aug. 8 deadly wildfire.
Lahaina resident Jennifer Potter spent more than four years as a commissioner on the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission, the state agency that regulates the electrical utility. She told ABC News that the power should have been turned off to the west side of Maui ahead of the dangerous wind conditions.
The company previously acknowledged the frailty of its electrical grid, saying in company documents after a 2018 hurricane that it was aware of the “extreme vulnerability” of its infrastructure and of the escalating risk of wildfires and hurricanes.Company documents show that a 2018 hurricane also downed power lines on Maui and ignited brush fires on the island.
In those plans, Hawaiian Electric acknowledged that shutting off the power could be used to mitigate fire risk until “more robust preventive measures” were in place."It's worth noting that even in places where this has been used, it is controversial and it's not universally accepted," said Kimura in an Aug. 14 press conference concerning the blazes. "It can be seen as creating a hardship for those customers that have medical needs that are at higher risk.
Kimura said all of Hawaiian Electric's power lines in West Maui had been de-energized for more than six hours when a second fire began in the same area around 3 p.m. The cause of this fire, which grew into the blaze that devastated the historic town of Lahaina, has not yet been determined. The company is fighting back against claims that it is at fault for the deadly blaze, instead blaming the firefighting response for the devastation that followed.The fire department on Maui is often spread thin, with fewer than 70 firefighters working at one time while also being responsible for three islands. And the day of the Lahaina fire, there were two other fires.Whit Johnson reports for ABC News from Maui, Hawaii.
There is no specific fire marshal in Hawaii responsible for overseeing the threat of dry brush. The state instead relies on a fire council made up of already busy county fire chiefs.Some of the West Maui large landowners have said they do manage their lands, and cited limited access to water as one reason the fields are so dry.
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