Lawmakers Want Utility Regulators To Conduct Their Own Fire Probe
Some legislators want an independent investigation because the state and Maui County are both involved in litigation over the August fires.
Hawaii senators on Friday passed a resolution urging state utility regulators to launch a public investigation into the Maui wildfires pursuant to a statute requiring the agency to conduct such an inquiry when there’s a fatal utility accident.
The to urge Maui County, which is taking the lead on determining the cause of the fire, to release in full any report it gets from federal investigators who are helping it with its investigation.
The move steps up pressure on the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission to launch an inquiry into the fires, which killed at least 101 people and destroyed much of Lahaina in August.
The measure still must be voted on by the full Senate and pass through House committees and a vote of the full House. But a resolution faces far fewer hurdles than a bill, and, as a concurrent resolution, the measure carries the weight of the full Legislature鈥檚 official request for the commission to act.
The State of Hawaii and Maui County are conducting separate investigations, which are expected to begin rolling out in April. But with both of those entities named as defendants in lawsuits, lawmakers have raised questions about potential conflicts of interest related to the official reports. , blaming the utility for starting the fires, so the county is both a defendant and plaintiff in the lawsuits.
The purpose of mobilizing the PUC is to bring in a third party not involved in any litigation, said Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole, chair of the Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee, which held a hearing on the resolution on Friday.
鈥淭he PUC is supposed to be the neutral third party on this,鈥 Keohokalole said in an interview.
In fact, the PUC has a statutory mandate to 鈥渋nvestigate the causes of any accident which results in loss of life.鈥
鈥淒espite this,鈥 the resolution says, 鈥渢he Public Utilities Commission has failed to investigate the causes of the August 2023 Maui wildfires.鈥
The current government reports are being drafted with help from experts. Maui County, which will determine the cause of the fire it alleges Hawaiian Electric started, has help from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The state has hired the private Fire Safety Research Institute to conduct its review.
Colin Yost, a commissioner with the PUC, testified on Friday that the agency has taken numerous steps to investigate the fires without launching a formal proceeding known as an investigatory docket. But Yost said the PUC simply doesn鈥檛 have the capacity to conduct an inquiry to determine the cause of the enormously complex fires.
Nonetheless, the measure unanimously passed the panel, which included the Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee and the Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs Committee.
Henry Curtis, executive director of Life of the Land, applauded the decision.
鈥淚t is overdue,鈥 said Curtis, who is a frequent participant in proceedings before the PUC.
Curtis also commended the senators for amending the resolution to require the Maui Fire Department to release an unedited copy of whatever report it receives from the ATF.
Curtis expressed optimism that the measure would pass the House.
鈥淚 think there鈥檚 enough pressure within the Legislature that this has good chance of passing,鈥 he said.
For his part, Keohokalole said he hopes Maui County releases its report on the cause of the fire long before the legislative session ends in May.
鈥淚鈥檓 really trying to get it before we get out of session, because it鈥檚 going to inform a whole bunch of stuff,鈥 he said.
