Re-Energized Broken Lines Sparked Historic Maui Wildfire, ATF Says
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser
(TNS)
The Aug. 8, 2023 wildfires that leveled Lahaina and killed 102 people were caused by the re-energizing of downed power lines at about 6 :34 a.m. that ignited unmaintained vegetation near utility poll 25 off of Lahainaluna Road, Maui County and federal officials announced today.
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives deemed the fire to be accidental. The ATF declined to comment on whether anyone would be held criminally liable for the fire.
The Lahaina Fire Summary of Findings and Conclusions report from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was given to Maui county officials on Sept. 23.
Maui Department of Fire and Public Safety Chief Bradford Ventura was briefed by ATF agents on the report Sept. 25.
“The destruction of much of Lahaina was caused by a single fire that started at 6 :34 in the morning, ” said Ventura, speaking at a news conference today.
Ventura said a “significant number of resources ” were sent to the site off of Lahainaluna Road and poured thousands of gallons of water and suppressant foam onto the burn area.
Firefighters remained on scene monitoring it until 2 :18 p.m. before they were re-deployed.
At 2 :52 p.m., a re-kindle event took place in the gully near the original fire scene. The burning material was sparked by either smoldering materials cut away during the creation of fire breaks or burning roots unearthed while firefighting, fanned by severe winds.
What exactly re-ignited the fire is not conclusive, according to county and federal officials, despite some plausible hypotheses.
The fire resumed with “disastrous consequences, ” said Ventura.
In a statement issued after the cause and origin of the fire was released, the Hawaiian Electric Co. expressed remorse, shared condolences and detailed their commitments to helping prevent future fire disasters.
HECO noted that consistent “with the previous reports published by the Fire Safety Research Institute and the state Attorney General, ” the reports issued by the Maui Fire Department and the ATF also “make clear ” that the devastation in Lahaina resulted from a “combination of many factors and the actions of many parties.”
HECO appreciates the “commitment by the Maui Fire Department and ATF to conduct thorough investigations ” into the events of Aug. 8 and noted the company has been “committed to transparency and accountability from the start and have said that it was important to understand what caused the fire and its catastrophic impact to ensure that it never happens again.”
“On Aug. 27, 2023, shortly after the fires occurred, we publicly stated that it appeared our equipment sparked a fire on the morning of Aug. 8. The Maui Fire Department and ATF determined that the fire that impacted Lahaina was accidental in nature and largely affirmed the original understanding of the timeline of events as first described by Hawaiian Electric …, ” read the statement, that listed HECO’s timeline of Aug. 8, 2023 Lahaina fire events. “We deeply regret that our operations contributed to the fire that ignited in the morning. Confronted by an extraordinary weather event and a chaotic situation, our employees brought their best efforts to their jobs, as they do every day. We have looked closely at our protocols and actions that day and have made many changes in our operations and resilience strategies to ensure we fulfill our commitment to keep the public safe, especially in extreme weather events, which are becoming more frequent and severe.”
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