Maui Agencies Subpoenaed After Holding Up Fire Investigation, AG Says
The AG’s office is having trouble getting information from some Maui departments.
Three Maui County agencies have been hit with subpoenas after failing to provide information needed for the Hawaii Attorney General’s investigation into the Aug. 8 Maui wildfires, the AG’s office announced on Monday.
The first phase of the investigation is focused on fact-finding about where the fire occurred and a timeline of how events played out. But investigators with the Fire Safety Research Institute, hired by the AG, are still lacking “critical facts” that have not been provided by “several key stakeholders,” the AG’s office said in a press release.
鈥淯ntil that happens, this critical process cannot move forward,鈥 Attorney General Anne Lopez said in a statement.
Subpoenas were issued to the Maui Emergency Management Agency, the Maui Department of Public Works and the Maui Department of Water Supply. Civil Beat reached out to all three agencies but did not get a response from any of them.
The subpoenas will “allow the Attorney General to collect information in a timely manner,” the office said in its press release.
Mahina Martin, a spokeswoman for Mayor Richard Bissen’s office, said in a statement on Monday evening that the county has “cooperated fully” with the investigation. However, she acknowledged the county has not shared everything investigators asked for.
She said the county received eight requests for information totaling 80 items. Of those, 32 were submitted to investigators. Twenty are pending “either due to processing or a response from the department that holds the records,” Martin said.
“Additionally, 12 items require federal Department of Homeland Security clearance before they can be produced,” she said. “The remaining items requested are either not under the custodianship or jurisdiction of the County, or are too general and are pending further clarification from the State and its contractor Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI).”
Martin added that investigators have conducted over 90 interviews of county personnel.
“We share in Attorney General Lopez鈥檚 commitment to keep our community safe and no one wants the truth more than those of us who live on Maui,” Martin said. “We also have the additional task of disaster response and recovery efforts and doing our best in meeting those needs as well. The outcome of the investigation will ultimately help us, our challenge is providing FSRI what they ask for and meeting their timeline of when they want it.”
Civil Beat asked the AG’s office to share what information it is seeking through the subpoenas but the office declined on Monday. Civil Beat filed a public records request for copies of the subpoenas Monday afternoon.
of the probe was supposed to be completed within three months, but will now likely take longer, according to the AG’s office. A “revised date” for sharing the results of the first phase will be announced at a later date.
Since the fires, Civil Beat has filed its own public records requests with the Maui Emergency Management Agency, including text messages, emergency operations center activity logs, requests for assistance to the state and its continuity plan, outlining who is in charge if top leadership is absent, as was the case on Aug. 8. MEMA has not shared any of these records.
Meanwhile, other Maui agencies have handed over requested information to investigators, according to the AG’s office.
鈥淲e appreciate the cooperation of the Maui fire and police departments, and while we continue to work through some issues, their leaders and line responders have been transparent and cooperative,鈥 Lopez said.
The death toll of the fire in Lahaina currently stands at 100 people, ranging in age from 7 to 97, and the fires caused more than $5.5 billion in damage.
Starting their work in late August, while memories were still fresh, investigators with the Fire Safety Research Institute have interviewed more than 100 people and reviewed over 1,000 personal photos and videos shared by residents, Steve Kerber, vice president and executive director of the institute, said in a statement.
The team has also scheduled time to speak with local emergency services agencies and local, state and federal organizations that responded to the fires.
鈥淲e are committed to investigating all of the facts and that requires accessing real-time information as the fire situation unfolded,” Kerber said.
The second phase of the investigation will assess how various fire protection systems worked during the incident. The third and final phase will point to best practices and recommendations from subject matter experts. Overall, the goal is to uncover the facts and “develop new policies and procedures to save lives and property in the future,” the AG’s office said.
鈥淚 remain personally invested in representing the truth, ensuring a comprehensive, independent investigation and communicating throughout this process,鈥 Lopez said. 鈥淥ur communities expect and deserve a safer Hawaii.”
Civil Beat’s coverage of Maui County is supported in part by a grant from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.
