US media: Video shows that blown down power lines may cause a fire, and the Maui Island fire has resulted in 110 deaths. Warning | Video | Maui Island
On August 15th local time, Maui resident Shaun Tru posted a video on his social media platform taken during the early stages of the fire, which may show that the trigger for the deadliest fire in the United States in over a century may have been a blown down public power line. The video shows that the blown down public power lines may have been the trigger for the Maui Island fire.
According to the Associated Press, on the day of the fire, the video photographer saw a wooden electric pole suddenly shining and emitting sparks. Subsequently, the wires that fell to the ground ignited the dry grassland, and the fire quickly spread under the influence of strong winds. In the video he shot, he could see a cable hanging on a charred lawn surrounded by orange flames. And, when the first batch of police cars arrived, he could be heard reminding the police to pay attention to the sound of live wires on the ground.
According to reports, the crucial video from Tru indicates that Hawaiian Electric Power Company did not cut off the island's power supply during the strong wind warning, and even continued to supply power even as dozens of power lines began to collapse. Previously, Hawaiian Electric Power Company stated that it had shut down the automatic mechanism for restoring power supply after a power failure, which was inconsistent with the wires that appeared to be still live in the video.
At present, the latest official statistics show that this deadly fire has caused at least 110 deaths, and the number of people may further increase. The local people have filed a class action lawsuit, demanding that the company be held responsible for the victims of the fire. The lawsuit cited internal documents from Hawaii Electric Power Company, which showed that the company was aware of the possibility of taking power outage measures but had never used them.
"There may have been other reasons that led to this fire, and utility lines were not the main cause. But if that were really the case, none of this would have happened," said Watts, one of the lawyers suing the Hawaiian Power Company. "The town of La Haina was destroyed, thousands of people were homeless, and hundreds of people mourned the innocent loss of loved ones. This is a tragedy that can be completely avoided."