Cause and origin of Lahaina blazes to be released
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
A report revealing the cause and origin of the Aug. 8, 2023, Maui wildfires will be released today. The burned remains of the Waiola Community Center in Lahaina had not yet been removed as of Aug. 15.
The Maui Department of Fire and Public Safety will make public today the cause and origin of the Aug. 8, 2023, Lahaina wildfires that killed 102 people, left thousands homeless and crippled Maui’s visitor industry.
Maui firefighters received the Lahaina Fire Summary of Findings and Conclusions report from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on Sept. 23.
Chief Bradford Ventura was briefed by ATF agents on the report Sept. 25.
Maui firefighters integrated information from the ATF into its cause and origin report and “will share the ATF report in its entirety as an appendix,” according to a Sept. 25 news release from the county.
MFD will present “a summary of key findings” via livestreamed news conference on the county’s social media Opens in a new tab platforms today and will release the full findings detailing what caused the fatal wildfires and where they began on the county’s website.
“We are thankful for the scientific and comprehensive work of the ATF,” said Ventura in a statement Sept. 25. “We recognize the importance of releasing this information to the public, and my team and I are working diligently to integrate the findings into our Cause and Origin report so this complex fire analysis can be shared.”
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The release of the findings of the ATF and Maui firefighter’s investigation comes nearly 14 months after the Aug. 8, 2023, fires Opens in a new tab.
On Sept. 13 state Attorney General Anne E. Lopez released the second phase of findings from a state investigation into how government responded to and managed the tragedy.
No single factor contributed to the worst U.S. wildfire of the past century; instead, a “a complex set of factors including weather and its impacts, risk and preparedness, decades-old infrastructure, organizational structure and incident management and coordination created a historic disaster,” according to the Attorney General’s Office.
In more than 600 civil lawsuits covered by a proposed $4 billion settlement, plaintiffs have blamed the fire on live power lines from Hawaiian Electric Co. that were downed by strong winds from a passing storm, the flames being fueled by dry vegetation on land owned by the state, Maui County, Kamehameha Schools and West Maui Land Co. Additionally, Spectrum Oceanic LLC and Hawaiian Telcom, which share infrastructure with Hawaiian Electric, are defendants in many cases.
