Stock investors considerably responded Monday to Hawaiian Electric pushing back against Maui County’s lawsuit blaming the company for Lahaina’s fiery devastation, but the county had little to say a day after the utility suggested it has liability for the disaster.

Shares in the utility’s parent, Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc., rallied 45% Monday to close at $13.97 after a Sunday evening announcement by the company claiming that all its electrical lines in West Maui had been powerless for more than six hours when flames reported around 3 p.m. Aug. 8 quickly spread and overwhelmed first responders to become the deadliest U.S. wildfire in over a century by killing at least 115 people.

Maui County sued Hawaiian Electric on Thursday, claiming that downed power lines sparked the deadly blaze, which also destroyed about 2,200 buildings and caused an estimated $5.6 billion in damage.

At least 13 other lawsuits have been filed against the utility and affiliates, including Maui Electric Co., mainly by residents who lost property and family members to the fire.

Before Monday’s HEI stock rally, shares had plummeted 74% to $9.66 Friday from $37.36 on Aug. 7, the day before the fire.

An attorney representing Maui County said he could not address questions pertaining to the announcement by the company long known as HECO, including the contention that the fire that laid waste to Lahaina was not caused by Hawaiian Electric equipment or the suggestion that the county has liability for the disaster.

Rick Fried, one of several private attorneys helping represent the county, said more comments could be forthcoming later.

On Monday he said, “The ultimate responsibility rests with HECO to de-energize, ensure its equipment and systems are properly maintained, and ensure downed power lines are not energized.”

The only other comment Monday from the Honolulu attorney was, “To the extent HECO has information of a second ignition source, HECO should offer that evidence now.”

The reference to a second ignition source pertains to what Hawaiian Electric is calling the Aug. 8 “afternoon” Lahaina fire that erupted after a brush fire reported that morning had been contained or extinguished.

Fallen power lines have been shown in videos taken by local residents to be the apparent cause of the “morning” fire near the intersection of Lahainaluna Road and Hookahua Street around 6:30 a.m., according to Hawaiian Electric.

The utility claims that the Maui Fire Department responded to this fire, declared it “100% contained” at 9 a.m. and later described it as “extinguished” when firefighters left at 2 p.m. to fight other wildfires.

Hawaiian Electric contends that the cause of the “afternoon” fire that engulfed Lahaina and caused all the fatalities has not been determined but that its power lines weren’t responsible because high winds had tripped them off just a few minutes after initial reports of the fire on the morning of Aug. 8.

“As of about 6:40 a.m., there was no power to Lahaina and West Maui,” Darren Pai, a company spokesperson, said Monday in an email. “The power remained out until Aug. 11, 3 days after the fire.”

Maui County’s lawsuit refers to only one Lahaina fire, and county officials have described the afternoon fire as a “flareup” of the initial brush fire that then raged through the community.

Hawaiian Electric on Sunday said it was disappointed that the county filed suit before completing its own fire investigation.

“Unfortunately, the county’s lawsuit may leave us no choice in the legal system but to show its responsibility for what happened that day,” Shelee Kimura, company president and CEO, said in the statement.

Regardless of what action Hawaiian Electric takes in court related to Maui County, other plaintiffs suing the utility company are going after the county as an alleged responsible party.

Attorneys who filed a lawsuit on behalf of Lahaina residents Monica and Rede Eder against the utility in state court Aug. 12 amended their complaint on Friday to add Maui County as a defendant.

The Eder case, which seeks class-action status, contends that the county took no action to reduce or eliminate wildfire risk ahead of the Lahaina fire, including maintenance of vegetation. The amended complaint also said the county’s failure to sound outdoor warning sirens contributed to the loss of life, personal injuries and emotional distress.

“The combination of the HEI Defendants’ failure to deenergize the power lines and the County’s failure to implement reasonable, non-costly wildfire mitigation measures and to sound sirens during the Lahaina Fire resulted in utter disaster,” the amended Eder complaint said. “Together, the failures of the HEI Defendants and the County caused loss of life, serious injuries, destruction of thousands of homes and businesses, displacement of thousands of people, and damage to, and the destruction of, many of Hawaii’s treasured historic and cultural sites.”

Of the other lawsuits filed against Hawaiian Electric in state court as of Monday evening, only one other case also names the county as a defendant. This case was filed Aug. 12 on behalf of Maui resident Nova Burnes.

“Defendant County of Maui had a duty to warn all of its residents of the danger posed by the strong winds and potential fire, and to warn all residents with sufficient time to save their lives, homes, property and possessions,” the Burnes complaint said. “Defendant Maui County breached their duties by failing to properly design, inspect, maintain, and warn residents in order to avoid the risks of wildfires posed by the approach of Hurricane Dora, which included timely activating the County’s emergency warning system to notify all residents of the danger posed by fire.”

On Monday two more lawsuits were filed against Hawaiian Electric over the Lahaina fire. In one case 15 plaintiffs claim damages for lost homes, businesses and other property. The other case was brought by DB Insurance Co. to recoup insurance claim proceeds paid to its customers who lost property in the fire.

The complaint by DB Insurance claims that at about 3:20 p.m. a power pole was knocked onto the tar roof of a gas station in Lahaina, creating fireballs that were blown in the wind. The complaint also said the Lahaina Fire flared up at 4:45 p.m.

An official cause of the deadly fire is expected from results of an investigation being carried out by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ National Response Team.