Hawaiian Electric says it activated its Public Safety Power Shutoff program and is ready to shut off powerin West Maui due to the immediate threat of wildfires from high winds and dry conditions.

In an email statement sent shortly after 11:30 a.m. today, HECO said it expected to activate the program around noon today. As of 1:30 p.m., the power remains on for West Maui, according to an email update at 1:53 p.m.

“Customers in these areas are urged to prepare to implement their own emergency plans and prepare for the possibility of extended power outages,” according to the news release.

HECO said it is monitoring wind and weather conditions, and will proactively shut off power in communities in West Maui with high exposure to wildfire risk.

Hawaiian Electric said it was also working to restore power to a non-PSPS outage in Upcountry Maui affecting approximately 150 customers.

The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for the leeward areas of all Hawaiian isles, effective from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today.

“We sincerely apologize for the disruption,” said Jim Alberts, Hawaiian Electric senior vice president and chief operations officer in the release. “We have activated our PSPS program as a last line of defense to protect lives and reduce the risk of a wildfire. We will continue to monitor conditions closely and restore power as soon as we can safely do so.”

For more information and maps, call Hawaiian Electric’s PSPS hotline at 1-844-483-8666 toll-free or go to hawaiianelectric.com/PSPS.