A lawsuit has been filed by five Lahaina residents in the wake of the Maui wildfire destruction, and it is making some eye-opening allegations.
The lawsuit claims that Hawaiian Electric Industries should be responsible for “negligence, trespass, and nuisance” for the destruction of the historic town. It believes that the company was “a substantial factor” for one of the deadliest US wildfires in over a century.
“Everything we’ve seen indicates the power lines started the fire,” said Singleton Schreiber Managing Partner Gerald Singleton.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the utility company admitted years ago they needed to do more to prevent their power lines from “emitting sparks” but made “little progress.”
Turns out climate change really did cause the terrible fire in Lahaina pic.twitter.com/KCWYLMO8nA
— Alex Berenson (@AlexBerenson) August 17, 2023
From USA Today:
The lawsuit alleges that Hawaiian Electric “acted with a conscious indifference to the probable and foreseeable consequences” that led to the fires that burned over 11,000 acres on Aug. 9, and that no “public power shutoff plan” went into effect to shut down power in vulnerable areas, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit said Hawaiian Electric had enough time and expertise to de-energize their power lines, especially since the company’s “aging utility infrastructure” includes wooden poles and exposed power lines. The complaint also states that the company has a history of improperly maintaining the dry vegetation around their power lines and inspecting their equipment.
After online outcry, the headline now reads, “Why climate change can’t be blamed entirely for the Maui wildfires.”
The article says that “[c]limate change may have amplified the conditions,” but notes that it can’t be blamed entirely.
