Maui Wildfire Lawsuit Lawyer – Lahaina Wildfire Lawyer

A recent Associated Press report suggests that bare electrical wires and leaning power poles possibly contributed to the sparking of the Maui wildfires, and a lawsuit recently filed by Maui County alleges that the wildfires started because Hawaiian Electric failed to shut its power off during high fire risk conditions and failed to adequately maintain its infrastructure.

Bare Wires, Leaning Poles Possibly Caused Maui Wildfires

According to a recent Associated Press report, when power poles were brought down by high winds in the initial moments of the Hawaii wildfires, fires erupted as a result because the wires attached to the poles were bare, uninsulated and could spark upon contact.

The report states that videos as well as Google Street View imagery show that the wires were bare and uninsulated.

The report also states that many of Hawaiian Electric’s 60,000 power poles, which are mostly wooden, were leaning, and were nearing the ends of their projected lifespans.

Experts, according to the report, watched videos of power lines which were downed prior to the fires and said that insulated wire would not have sparked and arced, igniting flames.

According to the report, a former member of Hawaii’s Public Utilities Commission said that many of the power poles in Maui were leaning “significantly” because winds had pushed them over.

According to a Hawaiian Electric document from 2019, the utility said its 60,000 power poles were vulnerable, as they were old and because Hawaii is located in a zone with a “severe wood decay hazard.” In the document, the utility admitted to have fallen behind regarding replacement of wooden poles, warning that a “serious public hazard” could occur as a result. According to the document, many of the utility’s poles were only built to withstand 56 MPH winds. The National Electric Safety Code, in 2002, was updated, requiring utility poles to stand up to 105 MPH winds.

Maui County Files Lawsuit Against Hawaiian Electric

Maui County, on August 24, filed a lawsuit against Hawaiian Electric, alleging that the Maui wildfires were the result of the utility’s failure to shut down the power when it should have and its failure to properly maintain its electrical infrastructure.

The lawsuit notes that Hawaiian Electric failed to shut down power in time in parts of Maui to prevent wildfires from occurring, even though it had received several warnings of high fire risk conditions from the National Weather Service (NWS) as early as four days before the wildfires, which began on August 8.

The NWS issued separate warnings about high wildfire risk conditions in Maui, as a result of Hurricane Dora, on August 4, August 6, August 7 and August 8.

The lawsuit also notes that Hawaiian Electric has known for years that West Maui is a high wildfire risk area and that Public Safety Power Shutoffs are an effective way to prevent wildfires.

The lawsuit alleges that many of Hawaiian Electric’s power lines were bare and uninsulated, alleges that the utility’s wooden power poles were probably in a state of advanced decay, and alleges that overgrown, dry vegetation was underneath the power poles and lines.

Multiple lawsuits have been filed over the August 2023 Maui wildfires, alleging that the wildfires were the result of the negligence of utility Hawaiian Electric. As of August 14, 99 people have been declared dead in the fires, over 1,000 people are still missing, and 2,207 buildings have been destroyed. The town of Lahaina was devastated by the fire.

A class action lawsuit was filed on August 12 in the Circuit Court of the First Circuit, State of Hawaii, alleging that the wildfires started because Hawaiian Electric refused to shut off the power despite numerous warnings of dangerous conditions which would greatly increase the risk of wildfires.

In addition, an individual lawsuit was filed on August 14 in the Circuit Court of the Second Circuit, State of Hawaii, alleging not only that the fire started because Hawaiian Electric refused to shut off the power despite warnings of conditions making wildfires likely, but also that Hawaiian Electric built and maintained their power lines negligently.

Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Hawaiian Electric Should Have Shut Power Off

The class action lawsuit filed on August 12 alleges that Hawaiian Electric should have shut off the power due to warnings of conditions making wildfires likely, but did not, and that this decision was the cause of the wildfires.

Lawsuit Alleges Hawaiian Electric Had Plenty Of Warnings About Dangerous Conditions

According to the complaint in the class action lawsuit, the National Weather Service, on August 4, warned that Hawaii might see “indirect impacts” as a result of Hurricane Dora from August 7 through August 9. The warning mentioned “high fire danger,” strong winds and dry weather.

Then, on August 6, the National Weather Service warned that the high winds would “pose a serious fire… threat,” and that the hurricane created the threat of “fire weather” from August 7 through August 9 due to dry conditions.

On August 7, the National Weather Service issued a fire warning and a high wind watch for parts of Hawaii including Lahaina. This warning mentioned that winds might blow power lines down and that if any fires were started, they would probably rapidly spread.

On August 8, the National Weather Service issued a red flag warning and a high wind warning for parts of Hawaii such as West Maui. The warnings mentioned wind as high as 60 miles per hour and “high” danger of fire which could have “rapid” spread.

According to the NWS, a red flag warning involves “critical” weather conditions with a high risk of “extreme fire behavior” due to warm temperature, low humidity and strong winds.

The lawsuit alleges that Hawaiian Electric’s decision not to de-energize its power lines despite these warning led to the Lahaina Fire, which destroyed businesses, homes, schools, churches and historic sites. The lawsuit alleges that Hawaiian Electric chose not to de-energize its power lines despite knowing that the high winds predicted by the National Weather Service would knock power lines over and ignite vegitation.

The lawsuit alleges that news reports suggest over 30 power poles had been downed on Maui as of August 8, and that the reports include pictures of downed power lines touching vegetation.

Lawsuit Also Alleges Hawaiian Electric Had Even Older Prior Warnings

The class action lawsuit also alleges that Hawaiian Electric had been warned about the high risk of wildfires in West Maui even prior to the National Weather Service’s warnings.

According to the lawsuit, a wildfire mitigation plan was issued in 2014 by the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization. This plan warned that one of the most fire-prone areas in Maui was Lahaina due to its frequent winds, steep terrain and proximity to grasslands. The plan discussed working together with utilities in order to reduce wildfire risk.

According to the lawsuit, researchers, in 2020, made a connection between Hurricane Lane’s winds and fires in Maui and O’ahu. Their report attributed a fire in O’ahu to arcing of power lines in the high winds of the hurricane.

According to the lawsuit, a Maui County Hazard Mitigation Plan Update from 2020 shows that the town of Lahaina and all of its buildings occupied an area with “high” wildfire risk. In addition, the same plan update included a table warning that there was a “greater than 90%” chance of a wildfire occurring in West Maui each year.

The complaint claims that Hawaiian Electric knew about the risk of wildfires on Maui, submitting a funding request in 2022 asking for money for, among other things, wildfire prevention efforts. That funding request allegedly stated that there was “significant” risk of a utility igniting a fire.

The complaint alleges that a Hawaii Public Utilities Commission member stated there “was absolutely knowledge” in the electric industry that wildfires were “a huge, huge concern” in Maui.

In 2019, according to the complaint, Hawaiian Electric committed to doing drone surveys to identify what areas are prone to wildfires and determine a course to take to protect its infrastructure and the public. The utility stated that the surveys were part of management and assessment of vegetation close to its power lines, and that the utility had studied wildfire mitigation plans filed by California utilities. These plans allegedly included programs to shut the power off during red flag and high wind conditions in order to prevent wildfires.

The Washington Post reported that documents show Hawaiian Electric knew that shutting off the power was effective at preventing wildfires, but didn’t implement power shut off plans. The Washington Post reported that Hawaii’s grid uses “largely uninsulated” power equipment.

The lawsuit alleges that a Stanford University wildfire expert stated that the Lahaina Fire’s pattern suggested that its source was power lines.

Class Action Lawsuit Seeks To Recover Damages Based On Numerous Counts

The class action lawsuit seeks to recover damages based on multiple counts of action, including:

Negligence

The lawsuit alleges that Hawaiian Electric was negligent by breaching its duties to:

• Maintain, repair, inspect, construct and design its equipment adequately
• Inspect, operate and maintain its equipment properly to make sure it didn’t cause a fire
• Turn off its power lines after a red flag warning
• Turn off its power lines after a high wind watch was put into effect
• Turn off its power lines during a warning of high fire danger
• Adequately manage vegetation
• Turn off its power lines after knowing power lines had fallen
• Turn off its power lines after its equipment started fires
• Implement reasonable equipment, procedures and policies to avoid igniting fires
• Adjust operations after warnings about dangerous conditions
• Prevent power lines from being downed and blocking evacuation routes

Gross Negligence

The lawsuit alleges that Hawaiian Electric’s negligence rose to the level of gross negligence because it was malicious, intentional and completely disregarded the rights of the public.

Private Nuisance

The lawsuit alleges that Hawaiian Electric’s negligence caused a fire to invade the plaintiffs’ private enjoyment and use of their land, depriving them of the quiet enjoyment and use of their property.

Inverse Condemnation

The lawsuit seeks to recover damages based on the concept of inverse condemnation.

The Hawaii Constitution states that just compensation shall be provided to property owners when private property is damaged or taken for public use. Since Hawaiian Electric is a public utility, a fire caused by the utility which damages private property is technically private property being damaged for public use.

Ultrahazardous Activity

The complaint alleges that Hawaiian Electric’s decision not to turn the power off despite warnings of high fire risk conditions constitutes ultrahazardous activity which was malicious, intentional and completely disregarded the public’s rights.

Injunctive Relief

The complaint seeks an order requiring Hawaiian Electric to turn off its power lines in high wildfire risk areas during high wind warning and/or red flag warning conditions. The complaint seeks an order requiring Hawaiian Electric to use technologies and tools to mitigate wildfire risk by doing things such as disabling automatic reclosers during high fire risk conditions, using non-expulsion fuses and covered conductors, and burying transmission lines.

Individual Lawsuit Alleges Hawaiian Electric’s Power Lines Weren’t Adequately Maintained

The individual lawsuit filed on August 14, like the class action lawsuit filed on August 12, alleges that the Lahaina Fire started because of Hawaiian Electric’s failure to shut off its power lines during high wildfire risk weather conditions.

However, the individual lawsuit also alleges that Hawaiian Electric did not adequately maintain its power lines.

The complaint alleges that the utility’s decision not to shut off its power lines was made even more indefensible by:

• Its utility infrastructure passing electricity through exposed power lines in areas which are vegetated
• Its deferred maintenance and aging infrastructure
• Its failure to make sure its lines had proper tension to prevent sagging, which the complaint alleges is proven to cause fires
• Its failure to properly manage vegetation to protect against its power lines crashing into trees in high winds
• Its prior knowledge about shutting power lines down being the most effective way to prevent wildfires

The complaint alleges that Hawaiian Electric’s system protection devices kept powerlines energized too long after failures of transmission lines, allowing fires to ignite. The complaint claims that while the utility could have designed these devices to turn off faster, it didn’t because this costs money and time.

The complaint alleges Hawaiian Electric’s power lines were uncovered, bare or uninsulated, while carrying high voltage power.

The complaint claims that the utility’s power lines traveled over overgrown, dry vegetation, and that while the utility could have undergrounded its power lines or removed vegetation near its power lines, the utility failed to do these things.

The complaint alleges the utility’s power lines were designed to re-energize too quickly after being de-energized.

The complaint alleges the utility failed to maintain its power lines and vegetation around the lines, allowing its infrastructure to deteriorate and age.

Individual Lawsuit Seeks To Recover Damages Based On Multiple Counts

The individual lawsuit seeks to recover damages based on multiple causes of action, including:

Negligence

The complaint alleges Hawaiian Electric was negligent by breaching its duties to:

• Repair, maintain and operate its infrastructure to prevent fires
• Prevent its power lines from contacting metal, other power lines, or sagging
• Maintain and inspect vegetation near its power lines to prevent fires
• Conduct reasonably frequent, proper and prompt infrastructure inspections
• Promptly de-energize infrastructure during high fire risk conditions
• Promptly de-energize infrastructure after vegetation fell on power lines
• Promply inspect power lines after vegetation fell on them
• Properly supervise and train agents and employees responsible for inspecting and maintaining infrastructure
• Follow and implement practices and regulations to prevent fires

Trespass

The complaint alleges that the fire caused by the utility’s negligence trespassed on the property owned by the plaintiffs.

Nuisance

The complaint alleges that the fire caused by the utility’s negligence constituted a nuisance because it:

• Harmed the plaintiffs’ health
• Offended the plaintiffs’ senses
• Obstructed the plaintiffs’ free use of property
• Substantially interfered with the plaintiffs’ comfortable enjoyment of property and life
• Obstructed the use of public roads
• Interfered with the right of the plaintiffs to a healthy, clean environment

Experienced Wildfire Lawyers

The experienced wildfire attorneys at Nadrich & Cohen are actively retaining victims of the August 2023 Maui wildfires, including the Lahaina Fire.

Our experienced lawyers have over 70 years of combined legal experience and have recovered over $400,000,000 for clients. We have handled countless wildfire claims successfully, including claims involving the Dixie Fire and Camp Fire.

We are contingency fee attorneys. This means that we don’t charge our clients any fee until and unless we recover money for them. This means no upfront fee. This means no out of pocket fee. This means we don’t charge you a fee until and unless we win your case. The only fee we charge is a percentage of any money we recover for you.

Call us today for a free consultation if you or a loved one suffered property damage, injury, death, evacuation costs, business damage, business loss or business interruption due to the August 2023 Maui wildfires. You can also text us from this page or fill out the free case evaluation form on this page. Call us now so we can hold Hawaiian Electric accountable for its negligence and deliver you the justice and compensation you deserve. Call us today.