Hawaii AG Releases Timeline Of Deadly Lahaina Wildfire

​Hawaii's attorney general on Wednesday released findings from the first report of a three-part investigation into how state and county governments responded to the wildfires that ignited on the island of Maui last year, decimating the historic town of Lahaina and leaving more than 100 people dead.

The first report, prepared by the fire safety arm of UL Research Institutes, provides a minute-by-minute timeline of how the fire spread between 2:55 p.m. HST on Aug. 8 to 8:30 a.m. HST on Aug. 9, and will be used to analyze how various fire protection systems worked and provide recommendations for how to prevent another such disaster, Attorney General Anne Lopez said.

"Responsible governance requires we look at what happened, and using an objective, science-based approach, identify how state and county governments responded," Lopez said in a statement Wednesday. "We will review what worked and what did not work, and make improvements to prevent future disasters of this magnitude."

As part of its investigation, UL's Fire Safety Research Institute collected radio communication logs and transmissions from Maui County 911 calls, the Maui Fire Department, the Maui Police Department and MPD Dispatch, as well as Hawaiian Electric dispatch communications, according to the report.

Investigators also made site visits from late August through January, including surveying the area by helicopter and capturing aerial imagery of all burned and adjacent unburned areas, the report states.

The report includes a map showing the fire's progression on its path of destruction through Lahaina, on the northwest coast of the island.

Steve Kerber, vice president and executive director of FSRI, said in a statement Wednesday that the report and timeline focused on several factors, including preparedness efforts, the weather and its impact on infrastructure, and other fires occurring on Maui during that same time period.

"The Lahaina wildfire tragedy serves as a sobering reminder that the threat of grassland fires, wildfires and wildfire-initiated urban conflagrations, fueled by climate change and urban encroachment into wildland areas, is a reality that must be addressed with the utmost urgency and diligence — not just in Hawai'i," Kerber said.

But he cautioned that conclusions should not be drawn solely from this initial report and timeline, noting that this data will be used to dig deeper into how fire protection systems functioned and what can be done to improve safety in the future.

Lopez added, "This is not a report about the 'cause' of any fire — the causation investigation is being performed by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Maui Fire and Public Safety Department."

Hawaiian Electric Co., which is under scrutiny for its alleged role in sparking the devastating Lahaina wildfire, is embarking on its own investigation to determine the cause of the blaze, but said in September that it could take up to 18 months to have an answer.

Litigation has also been launched in the wake of the fire, including a derivative suit filed last week by a Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. shareholder alleging the company's executives and directors knew that it was not prepared for the wildfire, which the suit says caused reputational and financial damage to the company.

That suit followed an earlier shareholder class action in August blaming the company for the massive downturn in its stock price following the fire after it allegedly spent years ignoring warnings that it lacked the safety protocols to address wildfires. Pomerantz LLP was selected in December to serve as lead counsel in the suit.

Just after the fire, Maui County filed suit seeking to hold Hawaiian Electric accountable for the billions of dollars in damages to public property caused by the Lahaina fire and the Kula fire, which ignited around 11:30 a.m. HST on Aug. 8, alleging that the company's downed power lines sparked the blazes.

The first report, prepared by the fire safety arm of UL Research Institutes, provides a minute-by-minute timeline of how the fire spread between 2:55 p.m. HST on Aug. 8 to 8:30 a.m. HST on Aug. 9, and will be used to analyze how various fire protection systems worked and provide recommendations for how to prevent another such disaster, Attorney General Anne Lopez said.

"Responsible governance requires we look at what happened, and using an objective, science-based approach, identify how state and county governments responded," Lopez said in a statement Wednesday. "We will review what worked and what did not work, and make improvements to prevent future disasters of this magnitude."

As part of its investigation, UL's Fire Safety Research Institute collected radio communication logs and transmissions from Maui County 911 calls, the Maui Fire Department, the Maui Police Department and MPD Dispatch, as well as Hawaiian Electric dispatch communications, according to the report.

Investigators also made site visits from late August through January, including surveying the area by helicopter and capturing aerial imagery of all burned and adjacent unburned areas, the report states.

The report includes a map showing the fire's progression on its path of destruction through Lahaina, on the northwest coast of the island.

Steve Kerber, vice president and executive director of FSRI, said in a statement Wednesday that the report and timeline focused on several factors, including preparedness efforts, the weather and its impact on infrastructure, and other fires occurring on Maui during that same time period.

"The Lahaina wildfire tragedy serves as a sobering reminder that the threat of grassland fires, wildfires and wildfire-initiated urban conflagrations, fueled by climate change and urban encroachment into wildland areas, is a reality that must be addressed with the utmost urgency and diligence — not just in Hawai'i," Kerber said.

But he cautioned that conclusions should not be drawn solely from this initial report and timeline, noting that this data will be used to dig deeper into how fire protection systems functioned and what can be done to improve safety in the future.

Lopez added, "This is not a report about the 'cause' of any fire — the causation investigation is being performed by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Maui Fire and Public Safety Department."

Hawaiian Electric Co., which is under scrutiny for its alleged role in sparking the devastating Lahaina wildfire, is embarking on its own investigation to determine the cause of the blaze, but said in September that it could take up to 18 months to have an answer.

Litigation has also been launched in the wake of the fire, including a derivative suit filed last week by a Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. shareholder alleging the company's executives and directors knew that it was not prepared for the wildfire, which the suit says caused reputational and financial damage to the company.

That suit followed an earlier shareholder class action in August blaming the company for the massive downturn in its stock price following the fire after it allegedly spent years ignoring warnings that it lacked the safety protocols to address wildfires. Pomerantz LLP was selected in December to serve as lead counsel in the suit.

Just after the fire, Maui County filed suit seeking to hold Hawaiian Electric accountable for the billions of dollars in damages to public property caused by the Lahaina fire and the Kula fire, which ignited around 11:30 a.m. HST on Aug. 8, alleging that the company's downed power lines sparked the blazes.