Maui County sues power company over actions during wildfires

Maui County is suing its local power utility, alleging the company negligently failed to turn off its power lines, exacerbating the deadly wildfires that ravaged the island and killed at least 100 people.

The lawsuit filed Thursday claims the Hawaiian Electric Company should have known “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.”

Failures to maintain equipment or turn off power during high winds caused by a passing hurricane, combined with drought conditions on the island, made fires from downed lines more likely, the suit claims. Turning off power, a procedure that other utilities perform during high fire and wind risk, could have “easily” prevented “severe and catastrophic losses,” county officials added.

The utility company said in a statement it is “very disappointed that Maui County chose this litigious path while the investigation is still unfolding.”

“Our primary focus in the wake of this unimaginable tragedy has been to do everything we can to support not just the people of Maui, but also Maui County,” the company said. 

Witness accounts claim that sparks came off power lines downed in extremely high winds, causing fires. At least 115 people died in the ensuing fires with about 400 people still estimated to be missing, making it the country’s deadliest fire in the last century.

The utility has also been sued by a group of Maui residents making the same allegations. A suit from its investors alleges the company failed to disclose that its wildfire protections were inadequate.

The company’s stock has dropped by about 18 percent since the wildfires began early this month.

Nearly the entire town of Lahaina was destroyed in the blaze. Federal disaster aid has flowed onto the island to assist those displaced by the wildfire. Total damage was estimated to exceed $5.5 billion by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.