Hawaiian Electric did not deploy a “public power shutoff plan” when advised to do so.
Footage from Lahaina shows power wires stressed by high winds, where 93 people are confirmed to have died from burns, heat, and smoke inhalation. Buildings still have not been searched as mass mortality search and rescue teams have arrived with cadaver dogs will search the rubble for victims. Fears remain a body count of 1000 is possible. Only three percent of Lahaina has been searched to locate victims. Fires are still flaring up near Lahaina and the Upcountry, West Maui Mountains. Meanwhile, the water is toxic and unsafe to drink in Upslope and Lahaina.
County officials earlier warned that harmful contaminants, including benzene and other volatile organic chemicals, may have entered the Lahaina water system, and that some water structures had been destroyed by fire.The chronology of the fire outbreak in West Maui was reported by the Washington Post. They found that the first fire started at 12:30 am Tuesday in Kula, located in the Upcountry or the slopes of the West Maui Mountains, which tower over the island. The Upcountry was lashed by 80-90 mph gusts from Hurricane Dora hundreds of miles away to the south. At 5 am Hawaiian Electric responded to a power outage in Lahaina, located on the coast. At 6:30 am, the second fire ignited in Lahaina but was briefly contained. At 9 am, power was lost for Upcountry, and by 9:45 am, power pole lines had fallen from the winds. The utility company was investigating three damaged main transmission lines. Fire officials warned them those lines were likely live. At 11:30 am, a fire erupted in Lahaina. By the afternoon, all power was lost in Lahaina.
The fire erupted again, wind-driven embers and flames ignited more invasive grasses, and a firestorm engulfed Lahaina, catching residents off guard and quickly burning it to the ground. Sirens never alerted residents. See Pule4Puna’s recommended diary.
Hawaiian Electric posted images on its website that showed the damaged infrastructure from winds on the island of Oahu. The Washington Post link has the images from Maui.
KIHEI, Hawaii — Four days before fast-moving brush fires engulfed parts of Maui, weather forecasters warned authorities that powerful wind gusts would trigger dangerous fire conditions across much of the island and Hawaii.
The state’s electric utility responded with some preemptive steps but did not use what is widely regarded as the most aggressive but effective safety measure: shutting down the power.
Hawaiian Electric, the utility that oversees Maui Electric and provides service to 95 percent of the state’s residents, did not deploy what’s known as a “public power shutoff plan,” which involves intentionally cutting off electricity to areas where big wind events could spark fires. A number of states, including California, have increasingly adopted this safety strategy after what were then the nation’s most destructive and deadliest modern fires, in 2017 and 2018.
Hawaiian Electric was aware that a power shut-off was an effective strategy, documents show, but had not adopted it as part of its fire mitigation plans, according to the company and two former power and energy officials interviewed by The Washington Post. Nor, in the face of predicted dangerous winds, did it act on its own, utility officials said, fearing uncertain consequences.
Donate: h/t to Rethfernhim
If you’d like to help: Maui Rapid Response is on the ground, working with survivors and helping those in need. You can donate here: www.kanuhawaii.org/… My sister-in-law, who lives on Maui, says that these folks are directly helping those in need right now, and they’re a worthy cause.According to a Maui energy commissioner, Hawaii Electric has dated deteriorated electrical infrastructure; the utility was aware of the need for regular power shutdowns and to bury utility lines to avoid uncontrollable brush fires. The Washington Post highlights the proof in its compelling article.
The country learned some harsh lessons from California when the Camp Fire burned the town of Paradise and killed 85 residents. Hawaiian Electric was aware of the Paradise disaster and the role of PGE power lines played, as were other utility companies in fire-prone regions of the country.
It had closely studied California’s methodologies, including its Power Safety Shutoff (PSPS) Plan. Hawaiian Electric cited it as a strategy that helps mitigate “wildfire risks until more robust preventive measures have been implemented in an area.”
Studied but not implemented clearly.
I can not shake how it must have felt to be in the harbor with hurricane winds pelting you with heat, ash, and embers while fighting rip currents simultaneously. Truly, I am horrified by what happened in Lahaina. I would imagine a smaller scale of what Pompeii must have been like.
I am so disturbed by right-wing trolls spreading all kinds of lies on Twitter. What kind of people do that? Rhetorical question.