Survivors hope ATF's findings lead to change in Lahaina… contrary to a 2018 fire report

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The U.S. Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms' (ATF) investigation into the cause and origin of the Lahaina fire brought clarity to some survivors but brought little comfort.

Many said the report confirmed what they said they already knew – that Hawaiian Electric's broken power lines sparked a fire that morning, which firefighters extinguished but reignited. What they really want to see is change.

“It gives me closure. It's no longer possible to guess what happened. And at this point many conspiracy theories lose their validity. And that’s exactly what it is,” said fire survivor Mahealani Strong.

While the federal report called the fire an accident, survivors say it shows what they call a systemic failure by the state, county, HECO and property owners to protect residents.

“It wasn't intentional. They made their judgments, but their judgments cost the lives of seven of my friends and 95 other people. So at some point there has to be some responsibility, justice and real compensation so that we can move on and deal with the post-traumatic stress disorder that we all suffer from,” said survivor Sanford Hill.

They expressed frustration that many recommendations made after the 2018 fire were ignored, including repeated calls for safe energy infrastructure, additional firefighters and resources for West Maui.

“No one intentionally set the fire, but these are events that could have been prevented,” Strong said. “To say something is accidental is to say there was no way to prevent it, and you can't say we never had a chance when we only had one fire five years ago, six years ago to prevent it. We knew this was coming,”

“It’s just common sense to have someone on site suffering from these conditions,” Hill added. “Not having the resources is not it.” [firefighters’] Mistake. That's the fault of the election officials, the government, you know, for not giving them the resources that they needed, that they knew they needed so that they could leave someone there who would have seen, like, you know, the smoke rose from that fire, and were able to get through it before it reached the point where they could no longer control it.

In a statement, HECO said, among other things: “We deeply regret that our operations contributed to the fire that broke out this morning. In the face of an extraordinary weather event and a chaotic situation, our employees did their best, as they do every day.”

Gov. Josh Green also issued a statement saying the focus should not be on finger-pointing, but rather on “accepting all of these reports, learning from them and implementing all of the lessons they contain,” adding, “Everyone has the responsibility to look out for and care for others.”

Survivor Rick Nava has been campaigning for a new fire station since the 2018 fire. Even after the Lahaina fire, nothing changed, he said, and many residents lost trust in the government.

“I don't feel safe. I mean, there are just too many meetings being talked about,” he said. “They can make all the reports they want, but unless they respond immediately, the fire could start tonight.”

“People continue to leave the island because they really don’t know if there really is a light at the end of the tunnel,” Nava added.

The attorney general said he plans to identify areas in the ATF report that could be addressed in his forward-looking phase three report. They hope to release this by the end of the year

“It’s a waste of time to keep suffering and losing hope. So we keep going, we keep going and keep focusing on what we know only God can help us achieve. There’s still a long way to go,” Strong said.

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