The long-awaited ATF report on the origin and cause of 2023ʻs Lahaina fire was released yesterday. Rep. Jill Tokuda shared her thoughts with Wake Up 2Dayʻs Sam Spangler.
HONOLULU (KHON2) — The long-awaited ATF report on the origin and cause of 2023ʻs Lahaina fire was released Wednesday, finding that flames broke out around 6:30 the morning of August 8.
Fire officials said it was caused by re-energized broken utility lines, resulting in sparks that ignited unmaintained vegetation. According to the report the fire was considered contained just before 9 a.m. but embers went undetected and rekindled.
“While there are no surprises, I do think it lays out what we need to do going forward, and not just for Maui County but for all of our islands to really reduce that fuel load. How we need to have more eyes on the ground when it comes to potential areas we could see fire ignite, and what we have to do going forward.” Hawaii’s Congressional Representative Jill Tokuda said during her appearance on Wake Up 2Day Thursday.
Maui County Fire Chief Brad Ventura said that he’s in favor of undergrounding lines, but admits that it’s an expensive process that will cost residents. Rep. Tokuda said there are resources available at the federal level.
“At the end of the day, we have to make sure we’re looking at every available pot of resources from infrastructure monies that we have available at the federal level to be able to harden those utilities even to put up more safety system cameras. Almost 80 cameras will go up statewide as part of HECO’s plan. They did pull down federal money to be able to pay for half of that. That is going to keep eyes on potential areas where we could see potential flare-ups or emergency issues, alert us immediately using AI technology, and be able to get people quickly to the scene. Ideally to prevent fires from starting in the first place. There are resources for that.”
While preventative measures are top of mind, Rep. Tokuda also wants to increase firefighting efforts.
“I think weʻre also going to have to look into the human infrastructure and our firefighting emergency response infrastructure and to the fullest extent that the federal government can assist in us beefing that up. I think we can always use more.”
Maui is just one of the many disasters that have hit the United States hard recently, with Hurricane Helene’s devastation currently sparking many to call for disaster relief help from Congress, including Rep. Tokuda.
“It has to be the first thing we do. It has to be as soon as we get back in November that has to be number one on the agenda. Literally days before Hurricane Helene hit the continent I was circulating, I introduced a bi-partisan letter calling on our leadership in the House and Senate to do something about this. We need disaster relief funding. We need to pass the Disaster Relief Tax Act that the House had put forward multiple times already. Our people can’t wait. Disaster doesnʻt discriminate in terms of which state and political party you happen to be affiliated, or where you live. It is something we need to do to address all of the needs our communities have right now. Billions of dollars are required right now to get immediate help to those that are suffering from Hurricane Helene and Maui.”
Congress is set to return on November 12.