Maui sues Hawaiian Electric alleging negligence led to wildfires

The county of Maui in Hawaii on Thursday (August 25) sued Hawaii Electric and accused the power company of negligence by failing to shut down equipment despite warnings of possible collapse of power lines due to hurricane winds, thus sparking wildfires.

The county has said that collapsed power lines started the wildfires which eventually destroyed the historic town of Lahaina. The fires killed at least 115 people while displacing hundreds more.

The county has said that the electric company, along with its subsidiary Maui Electric, had a duty to manage power lines in a safe manner. The county further said that the company was warned by the National Weather Service about dangerous wildfires before they started.

The lawsuit further describes that multiple reports had warned of wildfire risk in the area and that the company was aware of the threat of fires during summer months amid high temperatures.

The county has said that the "severe and catastrophic" losses from the wildfires "could have easily been prevented" had the company implemented a plan to disconnect the power supply.

Reuters reported that Hawaiian Electric did not immediately respond.

The lawsuit has been filed in state court. It has asked for an unspecified amount in damages to compensate for the losses sustained by the county. This includes property damage and costs of fire suppression. Initial estimates suggest that one of the fires that burned through Lahaina caused USD 5 billion worth of damage.

The lawsuit from the county has come after shareholders of the utility provider filed their own lawsuit earlier on Thursday in a San Francisco federal court. They have alleged that the company has failed to reveal important information about its wildfire prevention and safety protocols.

They have claimed that they suffered "significant losses and damages" through the company's "wrongful acts and omissions, and the precipitous decline in the market value of its securities," according to the court filing.

This week, shares of Hawaii's largest utility were more than 40 per cent down. The company has lost more than half of its market value since the Aug. 8 wildfires.

Although the official cause of the fires has not been determined yet, the Honolulu-based company has been blamed in several lawsuits.

(With inputs from agencies)

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