Hawaiian Electric says power lines were shut off hours before wildfire

On Sunday, Hawaiian Electric revealed that it had de-energized all its power lines in West Maui hours before devastating wildfires broke out on the island on the afternoon of August 8.

The claims contradict those made in lawsuits filed by Maui county and others against the energy company, accusing it of "inexcusably [keeping] their power lines energized during forecasted high fire danger conditions."

In a news release, HE said that while a downed power line did spark a fire on the morning of August 8, it was quickly attended to and "100% contained. The company went on to state that records "conclusively establish" that power lines to Lahaina bad been de-energized for six hours when the afternoon fire broke out.

"We were surprised and disappointed that the County of Maui rushed to court even before completing its own investigation," HE CEO Shelee Kimura said. "We believe the complaint is factually and legally irresponsible."