Maui County sued Hawaiian Electric Company on Thursday over the fires that devastated the town of Lahaina, saying the utility negligently failed to shut off power despite exceptionally high winds and dry conditions.
Witness accounts and video indicated that sparks from power lines ignited fires as utility poles snapped in the winds, which were driven by a passing hurricane.
The Aug. 8 fire killed at least 115 people and left an unknown number of others missing.
Had the utility heeded weather service “warnings and de-energized their powerlines during the predicted high-wind gusts, this destruction could have been avoided,” the lawsuit said.
A spokesperson for Hawaiian Electric didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Many Lahaina wildfire survivors say they had no official warning before the blaze was upon them. As the number of people killed continues to rise, Andrew Chang explains why there are growing questions about the emergency response.
The lawsuit said the utility had a duty “to properly maintain and repair the electric transmission lines, and other equipment including utility poles associated with their transmission of electricity, and to keep vegetation properly trimmed and maintained so as to prevent contact with overhead power lines and other electric equipment.”
The utility knew that high winds “would topple power poles, knock down power lines, and ignite vegetation,” the lawsuit said. “Defendants also knew that if their overhead electrical equipment ignited a fire, it would spread at a critically rapid rate.”
The lawsuit notes other utilities, such as Southern California Edison Company, Pacific Gas & Electric and San Diego Gas & Electric, have all implemented Public Safety Power Shutoffs during during high wind events and said the “severe and catastrophic losses … could have easily been prevented” if Hawaiian Electric had a similar shutoff plan.