Authorities have revealed the cause of the devastating Lahaina wildfire that devastated tropical Maui and killed more than 100 people last summer.
A 300-page investigative report released Wednesday by the Maui County Department of Fire and Public Safety (reviewed by) People) found that the fire was caused by “overgrown vegetation in and around utility pole 25 of Lahainaluna Road.” The fire started at 6:34 a.m. on August 8, 2023, due to “re-energization of broken power lines that caused molten metallic material (sparks) to fall to the base of pole 25, igniting neglected vegetation.” under.”
“Additionally, arcing and rupture of the live overhead power line between poles 25 and 24 caused this line to collapse to the ground and subsequently ignite,” the report continued. [more] There's vegetation down there.”
The Maui Fire Department (MFD) “completely contained and extinguished” the fire in the morning, but at 2:52 p.m., “a re-ignition occurred” just east and south of the existing burn area. “Fueled by extreme winds, the fire quickly grew out of control, jumping over the ring road and resulting in a fire from which our island community is still recovering.”
“The origin and cause of the Lahaina fire is clear: re-energizing downed power lines caused sparks that ignited neglected vegetation in the area,” MFD Chief Brad Ventura said at an Oct. 2 press conference.
MFD Deputy Chief Jeffrey Giesea added that the tragedy was in no way the firefighters' fault. “We want to make it clear to the community that our firefighters went above and beyond due diligence to make as sure as possible that the fire was completely extinguished before leaving the scene,” he said.
The report stated that 102 people died in the fire and 2 people were missing. The disaster caused $5.52 billion in damage across the island.