The comprehensive review by the state attorney general of the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century is not a formal criminal or civil investigation into the cause and response to the deadly blaze, Gov. Josh Green said Wednesday.
Speaking at a media briefing on Maui, Green said he has asked Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez to perform a “comprehensive review” of the deadliest natural disaster since statehood.
“The most important thing we can do at this point is to learn how to keep ourselves safer going forward,” said Green, in response to a question from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser about the review. “It is not a criminal investigation in any way.”
By contrast, following the previous deadliest modern U.S. wildfire in Northern California in 2018, the Butte County district attorney led an exhaustive criminal probe of the cause and response to the fire.
That probe ended with a plea agreement that required Pacific Gas & Electric to plead guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the 2018 fire that killed 84 people, burned about 153,336 acres and incinerated more than 18,000 homes and businesses.
“My office isn’t opening any investigations at this time,” Maui County Prosecuting Attorney Andrew H. Martin told the Star- Advertiser in an interview. “I’m focused on helping my community heal right now.”
A grand jury report released in June 2020 found that PG&E officials repeatedly ignored warnings about its failing power lines, performed inadequate inspections to focus on profits, and refused to learn from past catastrophes.
PG&E exhibited “a callous disregard” for the life and property of residents before its equipment ignited what was then the most destructive wildfire in recent U.S. history, a summary of the grand jury investigation said. Investigators concluded the primary cause of the fire was a nearly century-old suspension hook that failed, worn through after decades hanging in a windy canyon.
Prosecutors considered charging utility individuals but decided at the time they lacked the evidence to do so, meaning there was no one to imprison for the crimes.
PG&E, which filed for bankruptcy in 2019, instead paid a maximum fine of $3.5 million and $500,000 to cover the county’s costs of the criminal investigation.
The Maui Fire Department and Maui Police Department did not reply to questions about a New York Times report Tuesday that included an interview with a witness who recorded footage of a fallen power transmission line sparking a fire in the dry Lahaina brush.
The Times also posted the footage of the live wire starting a fire in its online version of the story.
State Sen. Angus McKelvey, who represents West Maui, Maalaea, Waikapu and South Maui, told the Star- Advertiser that he is co-authoring a letter with state Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole calling for “an independent review of the cause of the fire and an investigation by an impartial, third-party panel.”
“Given the evidence that’s come out in the New York Times, and now everywhere else, not having a third-party review would deny a mechanism of justice for the families (impacted by the disaster),” he said.
Cathy S. Lee, director of communications for the majority in the Hawaii House of Representatives, told the Star-Advertiser the members from Maui and across the state are “focused intensely on emergency response, locating missing individuals and supporting affected families in the face of this horrific disaster.”
“Ongoing fires and numerous missing persons require immediate attention. Maui legislators are helping their community right now,” said Lee. “When the time is right, law enforcement will be involved in determining whether criminal charges should be pursued.”
Mahina Martin, director of communications for Maui Mayor Richard Bissen, told the Star-Advertiser that the Maui Fire Department investigation into the cause of the Lahaina fire is in its early stages.
“The investigation into the cause of the fire is continuing,” said Martin.
At the time of the plea agreement, PG&E had just been convicted of six federal felonies connected to a 2016 blaze and was on probation for a 2010 natural gas line explosion in San Bruno, Calif.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii declined to answer questions about whether the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating or has been asked to investigate.
“We will not discuss the existence or non-existence of non-public communications to the Department regarding a specific criminal investigation,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Elliot Enoki, in a statement.
The FBI’s Honolulu Field Office also would not discuss a possible probe but did acknowledge helping with the county’s response.
“The FBI can neither confirm nor deny any type of investigations,” said Josephine Van Der Voort, an FBI spokesperson. “However, as with any natural disasters, we can confirm that we are assisting Maui Police Department in any way we can.”
Besides the mass deaths it caused in 2018, PG&E also pleaded guilty to one felony count of unlawfully starting a fire as part of an agreement with District Attorney Mike Ramsey.
On Wednesday, Green said there were some questions about whether the attorney general could conduct an independent review of the incident.
“The answer is ‘yes,’” said Green. “We will bring in whatever help is necessary … we are working to find out how we can make sure we are safe as we go through hurricane season.”
Lopez declined the Star-Advertiser’s request for an interview, and a department spokesperson did not reply to questions about the comprehensive review.
Attorneys representing plaintiffs suing Hawaiian Electric, the Maui Electric Company and the County of Maui told the Star-Advertiser that the cause and response to the fatal fire should “absolutely” be investigated “as soon as possible.”
Richard E. Wilson is working with attorneys Terrance M. Revere and Kyle Smith on behalf of Nova Burnes, who alleged that the “the threat of fire to Lahaina and Kula was extremely serious given the predicted high winds and propensity and risk of fire due to power lines and/or poles being knocked down by high winds that could rapidly cause and spread fire, particularly given the severe drought conditions in and around Maui and particularly in Lahaina and Kula,” according to the complaint.
Wilson told the Star-Advertiser that to have no formal criminal or civil investigation amounts to a cover-up.
“The people in the state, especially on Maui, will not stand for that,” Wilson said.
Green said Lopez will work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, scientists, meteorologists and anyone who wants to be supportive of “this research and study.”
Wildfires are going to be a reality “month in and month out” for decades to come, Green said.
“We will bring in whatever help is necessary,” Green said. “We view this as a way to learn and to share, in this case, from our tragedy, how best to protect people across the planet.”
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
