Almost a month after the start of the fires in Hawaii, the state’s electric utility spoke out for the first time about the case. In response to the complaint made by Maui County, which so far suffered 115 deaths and more than 1,000 missing because of the fire, it assumed part of the responsibility for what happened. While the utility admitted that their power lines caused the fire, they blamed firefighters for the expansion of the fire.
Hawaiian Electric Company wrote a letter describing the lawsuit as “factually and legally irresponsible.” For starters, they assumed that the initial fire “appears to have been caused by power lines that fell in strong winds,” although they blamed firefighters for the spread of the flames and the subsequent consequences, which included 2,000 damaged structures.
According to the company’s version, its teams went to the fire site that afternoon to make repairs, but they did not see smoke or fire. At the time, the area’s electricity was cut off. However, shortly before three in the afternoon, one of the crews saw a small fire in a nearby field, so they called 911.
“We started it, but they should’ve put it out”
Shelee Kimura, the company’s chief executive, said the tragedy can serve as lessons for the future, specifically to “figure out what we need to do to keep our communities safe as climate issues rapidly escalate here and around the world.”
One of the legal responses to the company’s statement came from Mike Morgan, an Orlando attorney currently in Maui. According to the lawyer's opinion, the letter's objective was to completely dissociate himself from the responsibility of having caused the fires.
“By taking responsibility for causing the first fire, then pointing the finger on a fire that started 75 yards away and saying, ‘That’s not our fault, we started it, but they should’ve put it out,’ I’m not sure how that will hold up. It’s also so premature because there are ongoing investigations.”
