Hawaiian Electric (HE) has revealed that it de-energized all of its power lines six hours before the deadly wildfires tore through the community on August 8. The HE statement directly contradicts the government’s claims that the wildfires were sparked by active power lines and raises questions about the real cause of the fires.
According to HE, records “conclusively establish” that the government is lying about the cause of the fires. Specifically, claims made in lawsuits filed by Maui county and others against the energy company, accusing it of “inexcusably [keeping] their power lines energized during forecasted high fire danger conditions.”
In a news release, HE said that while a downed power line did spark a fire on the morning of August 8, it was quickly attended to and “100% contained.” The company went on to state that records “conclusively establish” that power lines to Lahaina bad been de-energized for six hours when the afternoon fire broke out.
“We were surprised and disappointed that the County of Maui rushed to court even before completing its own investigation,” HE CEO Shelee Kimura said. “We believe the complaint is factually and legally irresponsible.”
She went on to slam the lawsuits as “inconsistent with the path that we believe we should pursue as a resilient community committed and accountable to each other as well as to Hawaiʻi’s future,” and warned that it “may leave [the company] no choice in the legal system but to show [the county’s] responsibility for what happened that day.”
🚨 MAJOR NEWS ALERT 🚨
THEY ARE DESPERATELY TRYING TO HIDE THIS!
⚠️ Hawaiian Electric (HE), JUST PUT OUT A STATEMENT THAT THEY SHUT OFF THE POWER LINES HOURS BEFORE THE MAUI FIRES STARTED ⚠️
THE GOVERNMENT IS LYING ABOUT THE POWER LINES CAUSING IT! I WILL EXPOSE EVERYTHING!!! pic.twitter.com/rgEa9i02Hm
— Matt Wallace (@MattWallace888) August 28, 2023
As Reuters reports, Maui county claimed in its lawsuit that the “severe and catastrophic” losses incurred as a result of the wildfires “could have easily been prevented” if HE had moved to shut down power at the proper time.
The energy company’s stock suffered in the days following the lawsuit, however Sunday’s news release brought shares back up when trading resumed on Monday.
Wildfires in Lahaina and beyond claimed the lives of over 100 people and caused billions in damage. The origin of the wildfires has not yet been determined, though Hawaii has since brought in an outside investigator to get to the bottom of things.
