House Oversight Committee Chair Comer says the committee will also investigate the government’s reaction to wildfires.
The House of Representatives has said there will be a second review into the fires on Maui in early August, which killed over 100 people and burned part of the island.
In a message, the House Energy and Commerce Committee said, “Our hearts are with the people of Maui as they deal with great grief, sadness, and despair, especially those who are still looking for their missing loved ones.”
“We need to figure out exactly how this disaster began so that Hawaii and other states can be ready to stop and prevent other deadly wildfires.”
“There are signs that Hawaiian Electric equipment may have caused a broken power line that lit dry grass in Lahaina. We’ve heard that Hawaiian Electric and Hawaii’s attorney general are looking into the deadly fire.
The letter is sent to the head of Hawaii Electric and the top people at the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission and the Hawaii State Energy Office.
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Maui County sued Hawaii Electric, saying the energy company was careless for not turning off its grid, which fed the fires. Hawaii Electric said that it was not at fault for the fires. In a statement sent to some news sources, CEO Shelee Kimura said the case was “factually and legally irresponsible.”
In their letter, the House Republicans pointed out that the case “alleges, among other things, that the utility took down power lines and other equipment after the fire and before the necessary investigations were done.”
Even though Hawaii Wildfire Management officials have been warning about a growing risk of wildfires for the past 20 years, the lawmakers point to “filings still pending at the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission” to say that “it appears that Hawaiian Electric did not try to harden and modernize Maui’s electric grid for wildfire risks until the last couple of years.”
The committee asked Hawaii Electric to give them a timeline of what happened, what steps were taken after the fires started on August 8, and any actions the company took between then and 2013 to reduce the risk of wildfires.
It also wants to know what Hawaii Electric did after the fires “to remove any equipment, including but not limited to damaged power lines and poles,” among other things.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Hawaii Electric said it would help Congress look into the fires.
“Hawaiian Electric is doing everything it can to help the people on Maui affected as we continue to fix and rebuild. As climate problems here and around the world get worse quickly, we are also working with some different groups to keep our neighborhoods safe, the company said.
“We have received the letter from the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, and we look forward to working with the committee.”
Fox News Digital also tried to contact the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission and the Hawaii State Energy Office, but they didn’t respond immediately.
The latest review comes after the head of the House Oversight Committee, R-Kentucky Rep. James Comer, said this week that his committee would look into how the government responded to the fires.
“The response of federal, state, and local officials to the devastating wildfire in Maui raises serious questions, and Americans, especially those affected by this tragedy, deserve answers,” Comer said.
