Hawaii Electric is Responsible for Starting the Maui Fire Like PGE Was for the Paradise Fire

It is obvious that no one imagned something like this as no emergency action plan existed nor the base training. so off course paniced individuals acted according to their training or in this case their non training.

That is obviously going to change but it is also too late for plausibly plus one thousand folks.  Why do we not know already?  Those ashes are cold and checking for remains is not complicated.  Recall how fast we got data after Katrina.

This clearly explains just what went wrong.  High winds knocked down the grid and provided initial fires which the winds blow torched.  The high winds also sped the burn up to take out flamables while not lasting long enough to reduce trees for example.

The big take home folks is that every fire department everywhere needs to have a high wind plan.  and just what do you think a tornado is?

Hawaii Electric is Responsible for Starting the Maui Fire Like PGE Was for the Paradise Fire

August 17, 2023 

by Brian Wang

https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2023/08/hawaii-electricity-is-responsible-for-maui-fire-like-pge-was-for-the-paradise-fire.html#more-185818

Hawaiian Electric serves 95% of the island state’s 1.4 million residents, and the utility provider is facing a lawsuit over alleged inaction in the face of the destructive Lahaina wildfire that has killed over 100 people on the island of Maui.

A class action lawsuit against the utility company alleges that they chose not to de-energize their power lines during the High Wind Watch and Red Flag Warning conditions for Maui before the Lahaina Fire started and failed to shut off power lines even after the fires began.

UPDATE: There was a lot more human incompetence involved in not being able to effectively fight the fire. There was that an official who delayed a request to divert river water until it was too late. There was not water available to fight the fire for several critical hours. The fire was incorrectly declared contained before it got out of control. Many aspects of fighting the fire and ineffective or failed attempts to give residents the warning and direction needed for an effective evacuation.

Hawaiian Electric did not deploy a public power shutoff plan—an aggressive safety strategy used in other states, such as California, Oregon and Nevada—to proactively shut down power to communities with high wind conditions and increased risks of fire.

It could take weeks or months to determine the cause of the blaze that destroyed the seaside Hawaiian town of Lahaina. However, the primary suspect is the downed power lines.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green estimates the losses approach $6 billion. There are still 1300 people missing, so the number of deaths could surpass 1000.

In 2018, the Camp Fire was caused by (Northern California) PGE improperly maintaining the electrical grid. The fire killed 85 people and destroyed the town of Paradise. It left several firefighters injured and burned more than 150,000 acres in Northern California.

Thousands of power poles and electrical connections were left to fall into dis-repair. It is taking PGE over a decade to try to get caught up on maintenance of the grid.

Below is one of the rusted out hooks on a high power line that started the Camp Fire in 2018.