A blame dispute is unfolding in Hawaii as Hawaiian Electric Company adamantly denies any responsibility for the recent fires that swept through Maui. The company issued a detailed statement in response to accusations by Maui County officials, who accused Hawaiian Electric of inadequately managing its electrical equipment during a National Weather Service Red Flag Warning, resulting in devastating fires.
As reported by Breaking Digest on Monday, Maui officials previously put the blame on Hawaiian Electric, pointing to downed power lines as the origin of the fire that has now consumed numerous acres and prompted evacuations across the island.
Maui County has taken formal legal action by filing a lawsuit against Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) and its subsidiaries, alleging negligence on the part of the utility.
Maui County released the following statement regarding the lawsuit:
Today, the County of Maui filed a lawsuit against Maui Electric Company, Limited, Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., Hawaiʻi Electric Light Company, Inc., and Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. for civil damages caused to the County’s public property and resources caused by recent Maui fires, including fires in Lāhainā and in Kula. The lawsuit was filed in the Second Circuit Court and the case number is 2CCV-23-0000238.
The lawsuit alleges that the Defendants acted negligently by failing to power down their electrical equipment despite a National Weather Service Red Flag Warning on August 7th. The lawsuit further alleges HECO’s energized and downed power lines ignited dry fuel such as grass and brush, causing the fires. The lawsuit also alleges failure to maintain the system and power grid, which caused the systemic failures starting three different fires on August 8th.
Maui County stands alongside the people and communities of Lāhainā and Kula to recover public resource damages and rebuild after these devastating utility-caused fires. These damages include losses to public infrastructure, fire response costs, losses to revenues, increased costs, environmental damages, and losses of historical or cultural landmarks.
HECO is a for-profit, investor-owned utility that trades publicly on the New York Stock Exchange serving 95% of the Hawai’i customer base.
The fires in Lāhainā and Kula burned over 3,000 acres and destroyed more than 2,200 structures, causing an estimated $5.5 billion in damage or more.
The County is represented by Corporation Counsel Victoria J. Takayesu, Deputy Corporation Counsel Thomas Kolbe, and by outside counsel John Fiske of Baron & Budd, P.C., Ed Diab of Diab Chambers, LLP, and L. Richard Fried of Cronin, Fried, Sekiya, Kekina & Fairbanks. Baron & Budd and Diab Chambers have been selected by public entities 95 times to recover civil damages in wildfire cases.
In a detailed rebuttal, Shelee Kimura, President and CEO of Hawaiian Electric, said, “We were surprised and disappointed that the County of Maui rushed to court even before completing its own investigation. We believe the complaint is factually and legally irresponsible.”
“It is inconsistent with the path that we believe we should pursue as a resilient community committed and accountable to each other as well as to Hawaii’s future. We continue to stand ready to work to that end with our communities and others. Unfortunately, the county’s lawsuit may leave us no choice in the legal system but to show its responsibility for what happened that day,” Kimura added.
The company provided a timeline of events:
- A fire at 6:30 a.m. (the “Morning Fire”) appears to have been caused by power lines that fell in high winds.
- The Maui County Fire Department responded to this fire, reported it was “100% contained,” left the scene and later declared it had been “extinguished.”
- At about 3 p.m., a time when all of Hawaiian Electric’s power lines in West Maui had been de-energized for more than six hours, a second fire (the “Afternoon Fire”) began in the same area.
- The cause of the devastating Afternoon Fire has not been determined.
“Hawaiian Electric says power lines were ‘de-energized’ hours before Maui wildfire
— Sunsetboy4ever (@Sunsetboy4ever1) August 29, 2023
Maui County alleged in a lawsuit last week that Hawaiian Electric was negligent because it failed to power down its equipment despite the weather and warnings.”https://t.co/Tn1eErsYA4
NBC News reported:
Hawaiian Electric pushed back against the latest allegation that it sparked the deadly wildfires that swept through Maui earlier this month, saying Sunday its power lines had been de-energized for more than six hours before the fire that killed at least 115 people ignited.
This is the utility company’s first full-throated rebuttal to the allegations that its equipment and downed power lines caused the deadly wildfires that devastated the historic town of Lahaina, and it is in response to a lawsuit filed against it by Maui County on Thursday. Hundreds are still missing after the Aug. 8 blaze as authorities continue to search charred buildings and cars.
The company claims that its power lines had been de-energized earlier in the day in response to a morning fire, which the fire department said it had extinguished, disputing a key criticism that Hawaiian Electric had not shut off the power amid high winds and wildfires.
The company said in its statement that there were two fires on the day of the deadly inferno — the morning fire and one discovered by Hawaiian Electric workers in the afternoon. It admits the first was likely caused by its power lines, but it said the source of the second fire “has not been determined.”
$HE Says lines weren’t even electrified at time of fire, and they can prove it
— Ignis Internum, Domina Splendira♜ (@CastratrixX) August 28, 2023
That lawsuit is over!
