Hawaiian Electric Confirms It DID Switch Off Power To ALL Lines After The Morning Fire In Lahaina

I’ve been asking this question for the last couple of weeks and now we definitely know: HECO switched off the power to the West Maui grid after the fire in the morning which was caused by downed power lines. Therefore, the second fire which destroyed Lahaina could not have been ignited by sparks from downed power lines. Furthermore, HECO confirms that the morning fire was fully extinguished and there were no embers, which means that the Lahaina fire was caused by arson, carelessness . . . . . . or blue lasers from space! I’m inclined to go with my early intuition and give more credence to the arson theory. A person or persons unknown killed countless hundreds of people and probably many thousands of animals in Lahaina and laid to waste the town. Why? Random psychopath? Or was there a more sinister motive?

Hawaiian Electric outlines important facts about what happened on Aug. 8: 

• A fire at 6:30 a.m. (the "Morning Fire") appears to have been caused by power lines that fell in high winds.

• The Maui County Fire Department responded to this fire, reported it was "100% contained," left the scene and later declared it had been "extinguished."

• At about 3 p.m., a time when all of Hawaiian Electric's power lines in West Maui had been de-energized for more than six hours, a second fire (the "Afternoon Fire") began in the same area.

• The cause of the devastating Afternoon Fire has not been determined.

The utility provided more details about the fire: 

• The records conclusively establish that Hawaiian Electric power lines to Lahaina were not energized when the Afternoon Fire broke out shortly before 3 p.m. on Aug. 8, in a field near Lahaina Intermediate School. Power had been out for more than six hours by that time. There was no electricity flowing through the wires in the area or anywhere else on the West Maui coast. Hawaiian Electric has informed ATF investigators of the availability of records that demonstrate these facts.

• The small Morning Fire, seen in videos taken by local residents, began more than eight hours earlier. Those videos show that power lines had fallen to the ground in high winds near the intersection of Lahainaluna Road and Hoʻokahua Street at approximately 6:30 a.m. A small fire that can be seen by the downed lines spread into the field across the street from the Intermediate School.

• The Maui County Fire Department responded promptly to the Morning Fire. According to the Department's public statement that morning, by 9 a.m. the Morning Fire was "100% contained." The Maui County fire chief subsequently reported that the Fire Department had determined that the Morning Fire was "extinguished," and the Fire Department left the scene by 2 p.m.

• Once the fire was out, Hawaiian Electric emergency crews arrived at Lahainaluna Road in the afternoon of Aug. 8 to make repairs; they saw no fire or smoke or embers. All lines to Lahaina remained de-energized and all power in the area remained off.

• Shortly before 3 p.m., while the power remained off, our crew members saw a small fire about 75 yards away from Lahainaluna Road in the field near the Intermediate School. They immediately called 911 and reported that fire.

• By the time the Maui County Fire Department arrived back on the scene, it was not able to contain the Afternoon Fire and it spread out of control toward Lahaina.

WOW. This really puts the cat amongst the pigeons now.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/hawaiian-electric-soars-43-after-statement-power-lines-de-energized-amidst-afternoon-fire