Maui County has filed a lawsuit against the Hawaiian Electric company over the fires that devastated Lahaina, alleging that the utility company negligently failed to shut off power despite the presence of exceptionally high winds and dry conditions.
The county initiated the lawsuit on Thursday, claiming that the wildfires that destroyed the historic town of Lahaina earlier this month, resulting in the deaths of at least 115 people and displacing hundreds more, were started by downed power lines.
Witness accounts and videos from the wildfires indicated that sparks from power lines ignited fires as utility poles snapped in the winds, which were intensified by a passing hurricane.
The subsequent fires, which occurred on August 8, were the deadliest in the United States in over a century.
The lawsuit argues that the destruction could have been prevented and asserts that the utility company had a responsibility “to properly maintain and repair the electric transmission lines, and other equipment including utility poles associated with their transmission of electricity, and to keep vegetation properly trimmed and maintained so as to prevent contact with overhead power lines and other electric equipment.”
According to the lawsuit, the utility company was aware that high winds “would topple power poles, knock down power lines, and ignite vegetation.” It further states, “Defendants also knew that if their overhead electrical equipment ignited a fire, it would spread at a critically rapid rate.”
Source from www.aljazeera.com