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Lawsuits are piling up in court over liability for the inferno, and businesses across the island are fretting about the loss of tourism. Maui County Police Chief John Pelletier has repeatedly pleaded for patience as authorities try to verify who is missing, who has been accounted for and who has died. Among the lawsuits is one by Maui County accusing the utility of negligently failing to shut off power despite exceptionally high winds and dry conditions. On Monday the father of a 57-year-old woman who died while trying to escape the fire filed suit against defendants including Maui County, the state and Hawaiian Electric. The state said it was reviewing it, and Hawaiian Electric declined to comment.

Persons: Richard Bissen, Joe Biden, John Pelletier, Josh Green, “, ” ___, Sen, Brian Schatz, ”, Schatz, Green, Oprah Winfrey, Dwayne Johnson, ___, Jason Momoa, Steven Tyler, ” Tyler, ___ Johnson Organizations: Maui County Police, Police, FBI, Gov, Twitter, Hawaii Electric Company, Hawaii Electric, Electric, Representatives, Hawaiian Electric, Lawyers, Hawaii U.S, Cross, Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, . Environmental Protection Agency, Officials Locations: HONOLULU, Maui, Maui County, Lahaina, Hawaii, MAUI, Philadelphia, Seattle

The suits allege that downed power lines operated by the company contributed to the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. The wildfire risk posed by aboveground power lines is well documented. Lives lost, billions in damagesThe Maui fires have killed at least 115 people with hundreds still missing. But Mitchell said insulating aboveground power lines with a protective covering is also an effective solution that is cheaper and can be rolled out more quickly. There is also technology coming to market that can de-energize power lines automatically when there's a problem, he said.

Persons: Mike Blake, Fitch, Berkshire Hathaway's, Paul Starita, They're, Singleton Schreiber, Alexandra von Meier, von Meier, Marshall, Michael Dougherty, Bob Frenzel, Xcel, Berkshire Hathaway, PacifiCorp, aboveground, Scott Aaronson, Aaronson, Joseph Mitchell, Mitchell Organizations: Reuters Electric, Hawaiian Electric, National Weather Service, Hawaii Electric, . Pacific Gas & Electric, PG, Xcel Energy, U.S . Forest Service, University of California, Moody's, Fitch, Electric, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, Xcel, Marshall Fire, Marshall, Boulder, Labor, Fire, American Society of Civil Engineers, ASCE, The Edison Electric Institute, California Public Utilities Commission Locations: Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, U.S, Maui County, Hurricane, California, Berkshire, Berkshire Hathaway's PacifiCorp, Oregon, Colorado, Berkeley, Minnesota, Boulder County, Paradise, Golden

☆ Maui’s Fires and the Electric Grid
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Hawaii Electric workers make repairs to electrical lines on Thursday. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesThe deadly fires in Maui last week are still being investigated, and there may have been more than one contributor. But one culprit that seems to be emerging is the tradeoff the local utility had to navigate between power grid safety and the government-mandated green energy transition.

Persons: Justin Sullivan Organizations: Hawaii Electric Locations: Maui

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