Did the state's electrical grid and its operators play a role in causing the fire that destroyed Lāhainā? That’s what U.S. representatives want to know.
Leaders of Hawaiian Electric, the Hawaiʻi State Energy Office, and the Public Utilities Commission were called to testify before a House subcommittee Thursday on events leading up to the devastating fire on Aug. 8.
But after two hours of questioning, lawmakers came away with few new insights.
Hawaiian Electric President and CEO Shelee Kimura fielded the majority of the lawmakers' inquiries. In her opening remarks, she said that a fire that broke out in the Lāhainā area in the early morning of Aug. 8 may have been caused by Hawaiian Electric power lines, but that the Maui County Fire Department responded and extinguished it.
"They left the scene in the early afternoon," Kimura said. "At about 3 p.m. — a time when all of Hawaiian Electric's power lines in West Maui had been de-energized for more than six hours — a second fire, the afternoon fire began in the same area."
Kimura reiterated that "the cause of that afternoon fire that spread to Lāhainā has not been determined."
Kimura's timeline did not satisfy Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Virginia. He probed Kimura on the exact steps that HECO took when it learned of the red flag fire weather hazard warning, and why the utility did not immediately de-energize its power lines.
"What was your strategy?" Griffith said. "Tell us and the American people what was going on that morning and why you didn't de-energize earlier."
Kimura responded that de-energizing was not part of HECO's wildfire mitigation protocols.
"Those decisions were made years before as part of a plan," Kimura said.
"In 2019, our team started developing a wildfire mitigation plan. And based on what they had learned of the plans in California, including their preemptive shut-off programs, they determined that wasn't the appropriate fit for Hawaiʻi," she continued.
Kimura said those protocols are currently under review, and that the utility is fully cooperating with all ongoing government investigations into the cause of the fire.
But she stopped short of committing to publicly share the findings of HECO's internal investigation when pressed by Rep. Frank Pallone, D-New Jersey.
"Is there any reason why you wouldn't make it public?" Pallone asked Kimura.
"I think it's just too early to speculate on what that is going to look like in the future," Kimura said.
Kimura said HECO's investigation will take months and that the utility is "very focused on finding out what happened there to make sure that it never happens again."
Across the board, lawmakers pledged their continued support for Maui's community. Meanwhile, a looming government shutdown this weekend threatens to stunt disaster recovery efforts around the country.
Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Florida, called the shutdown “crazy” and “a gift to our adversaries.”
"This is the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Ian that hit southwest Florida where 150 people died," Castor said. "Over 50 drowned because of storm surge. They're still recovering too."
While disaster funding for Maui appears secure at this time, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has had to pause long-term recovery aid for several communities, including those in Florida and Puerto Rico.
President Biden has urged Congress to provide more funding to the Federal Emergency Management Agency as multiple disasters strain its budget.
"We just cannot afford this shutdown," Castor said.
