{"id":180423,"date":"2023-08-13T16:33:10","date_gmt":"2023-08-13T20:33:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=180423"},"modified":"2023-08-13T16:36:07","modified_gmt":"2023-08-13T20:36:07","slug":"hawaii-utility-faces-scrutiny-for-not-cutting-power-to-reduce-fire-risks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=180423","title":{"rendered":"

More proof that OPERATION MAUI INFERNO<\/span> was a well planned, false flag, pyroterrorist operation<\/b><\/h2>"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hawaii utility faces scrutiny for not cutting power to reduce fire risks<\/h1>\n

Story by Brianna Sacks
\nWashPo via MSN<\/p>\n

KIHEI, Hawaii \u2014 Four days before fast-moving\u00a0brush fires engulfed parts of Maui<\/a>, weather forecasters warned authorities that powerful wind gusts would trigger dangerous fire conditions across much of the island and Hawaii.<\/p>\n

The state\u2019s electric utility responded with some preemptive steps but did not use what is widely regarded as the most aggressive but effective safety measure: shutting down the power.<\/p>\n

Emergency response questioned as Hawaiians survey what remains after wildfires<\/a><\/p>\n

Hawaiian Electric, the utility that oversees Maui Electric and provides service to 95 percent of the state\u2019s residents, did not deploy what\u2019s known as a \u201cpublic power shutoff plan,\u201d which involves intentionally cutting off electricity to areas where big wind events could spark fires. A number of states, including California, have increasingly adopted this safety strategy after what were then the nation\u2019s most destructive and deadliest modern fires, in 2017 and 2018.<\/p>\n

Hawaiian Electric was aware that a power shut-off was an effective strategy, documents show, but had not adopted it as part of its fire mitigation plans, according to the company and two former power and energy officials interviewed by The Washington Post. Nor, in the face of predicted dangerous winds, did it act on its own, utility officials said, fearing uncertain consequences.<\/p>\n

The decision to avoid shutting off power is reflective of the utility\u2019s struggles to bolster its aging and vulnerable infrastructure against wildfires, said Jennifer Potter, who lives in Lahaina and was a member of the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission until just nine months ago.<\/p>\n

In photos: The scene as deadly wildfires devastate parts of Hawaii<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThey were not as proactive as they should have been,\u201d Potter said about Hawaiian Electric\u2019s fire-prevention planning, adding that there had not been any real meaningful action to \u201caddress some of those inadequacies in terms of wildfire.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doug McLeod, a former energy commissioner for Maui County, also said the utility was aware of the need for a regular shut-down system and to bury lines, especially given the \u201cnumber of close calls in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, high winds caused widespread damage to utility infrastructure. The intense gusts\u00a0knocked down about 30 utility poles across the region,<\/a>\u00a0many onto trees and roads, complicating evacuations, according to Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen. He\u00a0confirmed<\/a>\u00a0that some electrical lines were energized when they hit the ground.<\/p>\n

The cause of the Maui blazes<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 now\u00a0the deadliest wildfire in modern U.S. history<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 remains under investigation. That probe may take weeks or even months to produce official findings, and on Friday, Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez (D)\u00a0announced a \u201ccomprehensive review\u201d<\/a>\u00a0of the decisions and policies surrounding the fires.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, LippSmith LLP and other law firms filed a class-action lawsuit against the Hawaii utility, alleging that its downed power lines caused the fire, and that company officials \u201cinexcusably kept their power lines energized\u201d despite fire warnings.<\/p>\n

Asked about its preparations and response, Hawaiian Electric confirmed that while it does not have a \u201cformal power shutoff” protocol, it does have \u201crobust wildfire mitigation and grid resiliency program\u201d that includes managing vegetation, hardening its power systems and inspecting its infrastructure. It also said it took preemptive actions, including \u201cnot enabling the automatic reclosure of circuits that may open during a weather event.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The circuit procedure prevents a line from continuing to shower sparks after it has fallen, but does not prevent the initial spark, said Michael Wara, a wildfire expert who directs the Climate and Energy Policy Program at Stanford University. That\u2019s the intent of a \u201cpublic power shutoff plan,\u201d which does have serious trade-offs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Shutting down power disrupts lives, businesses and can spark backlash, especially if the anticipated wind event does not trigger fires. But as climate change intensifies extreme weather, the move can greatly help a utility prevent destructive and deadly wildfires.<\/p>\n

Downed power lines, sparks from transmission hubs and other electrical-grid failures have started or helped to spread some of the deadliest and most destructive blazes in U.S. history. That has prompted utilities in states like California, Oregon and Nevada, with approval from regulators, to proactively shut down power to communities when red-flag conditions arise.<\/p>\n

Hawaiian Electric recognized that a power shut-off plan could be effective, especially after it reviewed what happened with California\u2019s 2018 Camp Fire,\u00a0which killed 85 people<\/a>, documents show. In a filing to the state last year, it pointed to California\u2019s Public Power Shutoff Plan as a successful way to prevent wildfires when additional robust techniques are not yet in place.<\/p>\n

In its statement, however, Hawaiian Electric raised concerns that shutting off power might prevent fire crews from using electricity to draw water they needed for firefighting.<\/p>\n

A utility spokesperson explained that it is difficult to enact \u201cpreemptive, short-notice power shutoffs\u201d because they must be coordinated with first responders and that \u201cnotifications also need to be made to customers with special medical needs who use specialized equipment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Such challenges are a real concern, wildfire experts note, but the purpose of a plan is to organize with agencies in advance. That includes emergency responders who, with enough time, can procure equipment such as backup generators to pump water if the grid goes down.<\/p>\n

These maps show where wildfires are burning in Hawaii<\/a><\/p>\n

The vulnerable nature of Hawaii\u2019s grid has also been a concern for years. Old wooden poles are largely uninsulated and strung with lush vegetation over miles of rugged terrain, according to utility specialists. In interviews, residents and energy experts said they have long called for the utility to harden its grid, and despite the cost, to put more of it underground.<\/p>\n

The poles have been in horrible shape for years, said Potter, the former utilities commissioner. \u201cI think we were all playing on the fact that we got lucky \u2014 up until now,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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\"Workers<\/a><\/p>\n

Workers of Maui Electric Company work on a fallen telephone pole on Honoapiilani Highway in Lahaina, Hawaii on August 11, 2023.<\/span>\u00a9\u00a0Mengshin Lin\/For The Washington Post<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A scene in the town of Lahaina on Thursday.<\/span>\u00a9\u00a0Mengshin Lin for The Washington Post<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The pattern of Hawaii\u2019s fires suggests that a spate of small ignitions combined to form a bigger blaze, Wara and other experts said. There\u2019d been no lightning strikes, which have sparked series of blazes in other parts of the United States, before the fires broke out. Instead, Wara said, and \u201cthe only real source of that is power lines.\u201d<\/p>\n

The chronology of how and where the fires started, and when and where power equipment had problems, has alarmed many residents and officials.<\/p>\n

Around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, a brush fire started near Olinda Road in Kula, a small town in a mountainous region called Upcountry, near Maui\u2019s highest peak. By that point, 80 mph gusts had caused power outages on other parts of the island.<\/p>\n

Kyle Ellison, who lives in Kula, remembers looking out his bathroom window around 3 a.m. and seeing faint flames coming from Olinda Road. The winds, he recalled \u201cwere stronger than anything I\u2019ve ever seen in my life and I\u2019ve lived here 30 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

A few hours later, shortly after 5 a.m. Hawaiian Electric\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0that crews were responding to outages around Lahaina, 30 miles away on the coast. Around 6:30 a.m., another brush fire\u00a0broke out<\/a>\u00a0in Lahaina; officials then said they\u2019d contained that blaze.<\/p>\n

By 9 a.m., thousands of people in Upcountry lost power \u201cdue to high winds,\u201d the utility said on Twitter. \u201cThere are several spans of downed power lines in various areas that require repairs,\u201d it wrote. \u201cMahalo for your patience.\u201d At 9:45 a.m., the utility reported that it was inspecting three main transmission lines to check for damage and also was responding to repair \u201cmultiple downed poles and spans of lines in various areas.\u201d Fire officials\u00a0also warned<\/a>\u00a0that these downed lines \u201cmay be energized.\u201d<\/p>\n

Around 11:30 a.m., Ellison and his wife had just finished making chicken nuggets for their children when they heard a crack and a boom, what sounded like a tree going down \u201cand something electrical.\u201d He said his internet shut off and then, shortly after, flames were quickly crawling in the gulch behind his home. Grabbing their children and whatever items they could, the couple sprinted down the driveway and jumped into the car.<\/p>\n

Photos from Hawaiian Electric\u00a0on Twitter<\/a>\u00a0show wooden poles snapped in half and lines hanging or on the ground. One image was close to Ellison\u2019s home, he said.<\/p>\n

By late afternoon Tuesday, Ellison and more than 12,400 other people were without power, and about 30 downed poles and \u201cmultiple spans of power lines in various areas\u201d across the island were in need of repair, the utility wrote.<\/p>\n

Then, the Lahaina Fire\u00a0flared up again.\u00a0<\/a>Shortly after, flames seized the town, consuming the popular tourist destination Front Street and jumping from building to building,\u00a0forcing some residents to flee into the ocean.<\/a><\/p>\n

The horrific scenes, stories of survival and shocking loss of life feel traumatically familiar to the moment that arguably changed how the nation thinks about wildfires and their potentially catastrophic impacts: The 2017 Tubbs Fire, when flames rushed over parched hillsides and jumped a freeway into the Northern California city of Santa Rosa in what felt like a matter of minutes, incinerating apartment complexes, out of which people narrowly escaped, and killing 22 people.<\/p>\n

How the Maui fires compare with some of the deadliest U.S. wildfires<\/a><\/p>\n

The country would see this happen again, with the deadliest wildfire hitting California just a year later. On a bone-dry, gusty day in November, the Camp Fire nearly incinerated the rural town of Paradise, again catching hundreds of residents by surprise and killing 85 people.<\/p>\n

Ultimately it was a utility company, Pacific Gas & Electric, that was blamed for the Camp Fire, as well as several other major blazes, ignoring warnings from state officials about its aged equipment, inspections and other protocols. In 2020, PG&E, which has since filed for bankruptcy, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter.<\/p>\n

Like California and other western states, Hawaii is becoming more prone to wildfires, in part because of climate change but also because of other human-linked phenomena \u2014 such the spread of nonnative grasses, which become fuel for fires when they dry out.<\/p>\n

In filings with the state<\/a>, Hawaiian Electric has been detailing its goals to make its infrastructure more resilient. These include putting lines underground in vulnerable areas, hardening poles and launching a program to remove hazardous trees, according to grid assessment reports and funding applications to the Public Utilities Commission over the past few years.<\/p>\n

It had closely studied California\u2019s methodologies, including its\u00a0Power Safety Shutoff (PSPS) Plan<\/a>. Hawaiian Electric cited it as a strategy that helps mitigate \u201cwildfire risks until more robust preventive measures have been implemented in an area.\u201d<\/p>\n

The utility also took notice of California\u2019s faults, documents show, having considered the state\u2019s \u201cdevastating wildfires of 2018,\u201d as well as its own experiences in 2019.\u00a0It noted that utility companies can be held liable<\/a>\u00a0when it comes to sparking or spreading a wildfire, and cited PG&E\u2019s $15 billion settlement with victims as an example.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe risk of a utility system causing a wildfire ignition is significant,\u201d the company\u00a0wrote last summer.<\/a>\u00a0As a result, it wanted to take the adequate steps to ensure that its facilities would not be \u201cthe origin or contributing source of ignition for a wildfire.\u201d<\/p>\n

___
\nhttps:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/weather\/topstories\/hawaii-utility-faces-scrutiny-for-not-cutting-power-to-reduce-fire-risks\/ar-AA1fbBp3<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hawaii utility faces scrutiny for not cutting power to reduce fire risks<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-180423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=180423"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180423\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=180423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=180423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=180423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}