Report: Lahaina inferno emerged from smoldering remnants of quelled fire

The inferno that consumed the Hawaii town of Lahaina last year emerged from the remnants of a brush fire that firefighters had believed they had contained and extinguished, federal investigators concluded in a report released Wednesday.

That determination confirms what has long been suspected about the fire that killed more than 100 people on the island of Maui. Residents have previously described how the flames emerged in the same area where firefighters had spent the morning battling a blaze triggered by downed power lines. Heavy winds rapidly stoked the renewed flames into residential streets, leaving many with little chance to escape.

But until now, local authorities had left open the possibility that there could have been something else that triggered the blaze that swept through Lahaina. Now, in a report released jointly with the Maui County Department of Fire and Public Safety, investigators with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives concluded along with local investigators that the initial fire had never been fully extinguished – and was able to reignite and spread.

Brad Ventura, Maui’s fire chief, said at a news conference Wednesday that a rekindled fire is something that nobody wants to see happen. But he said the department was confident in the actions of the firefighters who were on scene that day and had made the decision to depart.

“We stand behind them on their decision,” he said. “It is hard. We will be working with them, but we will be standing by them.”

The new report traces the origin of the initial fire to power lines that broke in high winds on the morning of the fire, Aug. 8, and were then re-energized. Fire crews arrived around 6:40 a.m. and raced to contain that blaze.

Local fire officials said Wednesday that the crews went beyond due diligence, suppressing the fire and remaining on scene for more than five hours after it appeared to have been extinguished. With heavy machinery, crews built fire breaks to help ensure that the area was safe. By afternoon, there were no flames or smoke or glowing materials on scene, officials said.

The last fire crews departed around 2:18 p.m., returning to their station to eat and recharge.

Within minutes, the fire was spreading again and soon began consuming homes.

Jeff Giesea, the county’s assistant fire chief, said there were several theories about how embers could have smoldered but gone undetected. He said a piece of burning material might have been buried under dirt and ash until wind uncovered it again. Heavy machinery used to create the fire break could have pushed some smoldering material into an area where it eventually found new fuel to grow, he said.

Jonathan Blais, the special agent in charge of the ATF division overseeing the investigation, said the fire crews had spent substantial time and resources on scene.

“I believe the Maui Fire Department did everything possible to extinguish the morning phase of that fire,” he said.

The rapid spread of the fire turned the situation into the deadliest U.S. wildfire in the past century. Escape routes were blocked by downed power lines. Cell coverage faltered. Evacuation warnings were delayed. Fire hydrants ran dry.

Wednesday’s report is part of a series of investigations that have identified a range of failures in both preparedness and response. These failures have included inadequate management of parched vegetation, a lack of planning for the dangerous weather conditions and poor coordination among the different officials responding to the crisis.

The state attorney general’s office has said that no criminal charges are expected. The utility company that operates the power lines, Hawaiian Electric, has agreed to pay the largest share of a $4 billion legal settlement.

State officials have pursued new investments in managing vegetation, local agencies are working to improve their wildfire preparedness, and Hawaiian Electric has begun preemptive power shut-offs in areas where storms could pose a particular risk of wildfire.

More than a year after the fire, many of the properties in Lahaina have been cleared of debris, but Maui officials are still formulating a plan for rebuilding. Government leaders have discussed moving some residents to new neighborhoods and rebuilding historic wetlands that are a cherished part of Native Hawaiian history. Officials also face community divisions about how to rebuild the waterfront, where buildings perched over the water drew tourists to shop and dine.

Thousands of people are still waiting to rebuild their homes.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.