The Hawaii power company whose equipment is believed to have started the deadly Maui wildfire has removed damaged infrastructure where the fire likely started, a move that may have jeopardized the federal investigation into the disaster.
Records obtained by the Washington Post show that the utility company picked up downed poles, power lines, transformers, conductors and other equipment from the area surrounding the Lahaina substation beginning Aug. 12, days before law enforcement officers Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Came on view.
In doing so, the power company may have violated national guidelines for how utility companies should handle and preserve evidence after a wildfire and compromised the investigation into the cause of the inferno that killed at least 115 people.
“If a large amount of equipment has already moved or disappeared by the time investigators arrive, that’s problematic because you want to look at where the equipment was in relation to the ignition site,” said Michael Wara, program director for Climate and Energy Policy. from Stanford. University, he told the Post.
But in a statement, Hawaiian Electric spokesman Darren Pai said the company has been “in regular communication with and is working with ATF and local law enforcement, as well as attorneys representing people affected by the wildfires, with inventories and access to removed equipment, which we have carefully photographed, documented and stored.”
The Post also requested comment from the utility and the California-based law firm that represents it, Munger, Tolles and Olsen.
Hawaiian Electric is facing scrutiny for removing downed poles from the location where the deadly Lahaina fire likely started. AFP via Getty Images
The fire devastated the historic coastal town of Lahaina, killing 115 people.James Keivom
Hawaiian Electric said it thoroughly documented the evidence before removing it. AFP via Getty Images
Locals told the Post how the fire started early on the morning of Aug. 8 when a transformer blew, spreading dry grass on Maui County-owned land about a mile away from Lahaina’s historic waterfront.
Apparently, Hawaiian Electric had not shut off power before high winds hit the area, and within an hour the fire roared down the hill toward the ocean, destroying nearly everything in its path.
The utility is now facing at least eight lawsuits from local residents who are desperately trying to rebuild, alleging that the company failed to preserve the necessary evidence.
In one of those lawsuits, a law firm representing more than two dozen Lahaina families asked Hawaiian Electric to preserve evidence twice as of Aug. 10, according to correspondence obtained by the Post.
The next day, the Washington Post reported, one of the utility’s attorneys responded that Hawaiian Electric’s primary goal was the safety of first responders who were still fighting the fire, displacing residents and restoring power. .
The fire started early on the morning of August 8, likely after a transformer blew causing dry grass on county-owned land. Maui County /AFP via Getty Images
The fire is seen moving toward residents of downtown Lahaina as smoke filled the air. PA
An aerial view shows smoke rising over Maui. Carter Barto/AFP via Getty Images
The company reportedly said it was “taking steps to preserve its own property,” but because so many local, state, and federal agencies were still on the ground trying to fight the fires and remove debris, it was “therefore possible, even probable, that the actions of these third parties, whose actions Hawaiian Electric does not control, may result in the loss of property or other items related to the cause of the fire.”
“Hawaiian Electric will take reasonable steps to preserve the evidence, but cannot offer any guarantees due to the rapidly evolving situation on the ground, which is also not within our control,” the letter said, according to the Washington Post.
In response, lawyers for the residents filed a temporary restraining order to prevent Hawaiian Electric from greatly disturbing the scene where the fire started.
On August 18, a judge signed a provisional discovery order detailing how the utility should have handled evidence around the “suspicious source area.”
The fire destroyed almost everything in its path and more than 1,100 people are still missing.James Keivom
The forest fire caused widespread outages and downed power lines. REUTERS
According to the National Fire Protection Association guidelines, “it is necessary to preserve the integrity of the fire scene” and “evidence should not be tampered with or disposed of without documentation.”
Hawaiian Electric argued in court documents that it suppressed the evidence because the company does not “own or control the land or public streets beneath its facilities.”
The utility also hired a California-based “cause and origin” expert to “preserve possible evidence related to the fire,” according to the Washington Post.
Meanwhile, the death toll from the fire has reached 115 people and the number of missing has risen to 1,100.
Categories: Trending
Source: vtt.edu.vn