A Maui County Council committee is considering a possible investigation into how firefighters, police, emergency management and public works officials performed while responding to the wildfires in
August.
On Aug. 8 three fires broke out in Kula, Olinda and Lahaina that would destroy homes, kill at least 115 and leave 7,500 without a place to live. The 5.5-square-mile heart of Lahaina burned to the ground, and the fires have yet to be extinguished.
As of Thursday the Olinda fire was 90% contained and had burned about 1,081 acres. The Kula fire was 96% contained Wednesday, having torched about 202 acres. The Lahaina fire was 100% contained after consuming about 2,170 acres.
On Thursday the Council’s Disaster, Resilience,
International Affairs, and Planning Committee heard testimony and discussed the possibility of a formal investigation of the Department of Fire and Public Safety, Police Department, Maui Emergency Management Agency and Department of Public Works’ response to the August wildfires, but no action was taken.
“The main reason that I scheduled this item was that at the end of August there was an incident in Kaanapali that the sirens were sounded and there wasn’t good information about what was going on for folks. There was a County of Maui Facebook post that said level-three evacuation ‘go now,’ and then it named some obscure streets that a lot of people didn’t know,” said Council member Tamara Paltin, committee chair, who represents West Maui.
“With that occurring so close to the previous wildfire … the question is, What is our process for alerting people how to evacuate and where to go?”
Maui Fire Chief Bradford Ventura, Maui Police Chief John Pelletier and MEMA Administrator Darryl Oliveira were invited to Thursday’s hearing but told Paltin’s committee they were unable to attend and answer questions because of the “current, ongoing (county) lawsuit” against Hawaiian Electric Co.
The county filed a lawsuit against Hawaiian Electric on Aug. 24 alleging the utility acted negligently by failing to power down its electrical equipment despite a National Weather Service red-flag warning on Aug. 7 for high-wind conditions conducive to wildfires.
The lawsuit also accuses Hawaiian Electric of starting the fires, saying that energized and downed power lines ignited dry fuel such as grass and brush.
The utility contends the fire that destroyed much of Lahaina started in the afternoon of Aug. 8, hours after its lines and electrical equipment in West Maui had been “de-energized.”
The Maui County lawsuit also alleges failure to maintain the system and power grid, which caused the systemic failures starting the Kula, Olinda and Lahaina fires on Aug. 8.
Paltin drafted a resolution calling for the full Council probe, stating that an investigation is authorized by Section 78-9 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes. That statute allows county lawmakers to compel persons elected, appointed or
employed by the county
“to testify or answer any question regarding … the government, property, or affairs” of the county, according to the draft resolution.
“The Council is concerned about County resiliency and intends to assess the performance of agencies with oversight to this critical incident in order to bolster County-wide preparedness,” reads the draft resolution. “A thorough formal investigation will provide essential information needed to prevent a similar disaster in the future.”
The County Council will consider Paltin’s resolution calling for the investigation at 9 a.m today during its meeting at the Kalana o Maui Building in Wailuku.
