{"id":2018752,"date":"2023-08-31T22:17:05","date_gmt":"2023-09-01T02:17:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-republicans-demand-answers-on-maui-fires-and-grid-safety\/"},"modified":"2023-08-31T22:19:37","modified_gmt":"2023-09-01T02:19:37","slug":"house-republicans-demand-answers-on-maui-fires-and-grid-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-republicans-demand-answers-on-maui-fires-and-grid-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"House Republicans seek answers on Maui fires and grid safety."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhouse-republicans-demand-answers-on-maui-fires-and-grid-safety%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2018752&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div data-post-content=\"true\" class=\"post_content\" id=\"post_content\">\n<h2>House Republicans Demand Answers on Deadly Fires in Maui<\/h2>\n<p>House Republicans are demanding explanations from Hawaiian Electric and other stakeholders regarding the recent deadly fires in\u200d Maui, the state of the electrical grid, and measures \u2062taken to prevent future incidents.<\/p>\n<p>The chairs of the Committee \u200con Energy and Commerce, including Reps.\u2064 Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.),\u200b Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), \u200dand H. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) penned a letter to officials at Hawaiin Electric, the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission, and the \u200bHawai\u2019i \u2064State Energy Office on Aug. 30.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cWe seek\u2064 a\u2063 fuller understanding of the role,\u2064 if any, of the electric infrastructure in this tragic event,\u201d the lawmakers \u2063wrote (<a href=\"https:\/\/d1dth6e84htgma.cloudfront.net\/08_30_23_E_and_C_Letter_Kimura_Asuncion_Glick_44f76f7025.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"shortcode\">\n<div class=\"border-comp-divider mb-4 mr-4 w-full max-w-[500px] border px-5 py-4 text-[16px] leading-[20px] text-[#262626] md:float-left\">\n<div class=\"mb-3 font-sans text-[16px] font-semibold uppercase leading-[19px] text-[#2F2F2F]\">Related Stories<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/biden-pledges-federal-support-for-hawaii-and-florida-calling-events-part-of-a-climate-crisis-5483839\">Biden Pledges Federal Support for Hawaii and Florida, Calling Events Part of a &#8216;Climate Crisis&#8217;<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">8\/30\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/white-house-says-biden-didnt-hear-hawaii-wildfire-question-when-he-said-no-comment-5480898\">White House Says Biden Didn&#8217;t Hear Hawaii Wildfire Question When \u2063He Said \u2063&#8217;No Comment&#8217;<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">8\/25\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The letter addresses several pressing concerns regarding the\u200c fire that swept through the town of Lahaina and its connection to\u200d the\u200d electric grid&#8217;s condition and \u200bfire mitigation efforts.<\/p>\n<p>The\u200d disaster, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-child-actor-austin-majors-death-caused-by-fentanyl\/\" title=\"Austin Majors, a former child actor, died due to Fentanyl.\">claimed numerous lives<\/a> and razed entire communities, has prompted scrutiny into the possible role of Hawaiian Electric&#8217;s equipment in\u2064 sparking the blaze.<\/p>\n<p>The utility \u200dacknowledged this week that downed power\u2063 lines initiated an\u2064 initial\u200d fire at 6:30 a.m. However, they attributed \u2062the severity of the fire to county firefighting crews, alleging that the\u2064 crews prematurely declared the initial\u2063 fire as\u200c contained.<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hawaiianelectric.com\/hawaiian-electric-provides-update-on-lahaina-fires-response\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statement<\/a> on Aug. 27, Hawaiian Electric \u200bsaid the Maui County Fire Department reported the initial fire was &#8220;100% contained&#8221; before allegedly leaving\u200c the scene &#8220;and later declared it had been &#8216;extinguished.&#8221; \u200dThe utility\u2063 claims that a second\u200c fire began\u2063 at about 3 p.m. in the same area &#8220;when all of\u2063 Hawaiian Electric&#8217;s power lines in West Maui had\u200b been de-energized for \u2064more than six hours.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The congressional leaders&#8217; \u2064letter raises questions about the sequence of events on Aug. 8, \u2064including actions \u200btaken by Hawaiian Electric. It\u2063 also inquires into the company&#8217;s efforts to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hawaii-utility-pursued-green-energy-goals-while-fire-mitigation-projects-were-delayed\/\" title=\"Hawaii utility focused on green energy, delayed fire mitigation.\">address fire risks<\/a> in the Maui grid prior to the incident.<\/p>\n<p>Recent revelations\u2064 about\u200c the \u200dproliferation of\u2063 invasive grasses and shrubs on the island, coupled with reported failures to act \u2062on previous warnings, \u200dhave intensified \u2063the\u200b inquiry into \u2063the effectiveness\u2062 of measures taken to mitigate fire hazards.<\/p>\n<p>The utility company acknowledged \u2063receipt of the letter in\u2064 a statement obtained by The Hill.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHawaiian Electric is doing\u2062 everything possible to support those who have been impacted on Maui as we continue our restoration \u200cand rebuilding efforts,&#8221; a\u2062 company spokesperson said. \u2062&#8221;We are also working \u2063with a number of different entities to keep our communities safe, as\u200b climate issues rapidly\u200d intensify here and around\u2064 the globe.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Maui County filed \u2062a lawsuit accusing Hawaiin Electric\u200d of mishandling power lines, but the utility countered, asserting\u200b its lines played a role in a morning fire \u2064that was subsequently put out.<\/p>\n<p>Hawaiian\u2063 Electric had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-republicans-demand-answers-on-maui-fires-and-grid-safety\/\" title=\"House Republicans seek answers on Maui fires and grid safety.\">previously issued statements\u200b outlining initiatives<\/a> to\u2062 prevent wildfires after \u2062fires \u2064in Maui in 2019. The congressional leaders, in their letter, seek information on the\u2062 implementation \u2063of these initiatives\u2062 and the \u200dutility&#8217;s spending over the past decade to \u2063address \u200bidentified fire risks.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally,\u2064 the letter\u2063 questions the\u200d Hawaii Public Utilities Commission&#8217;s actions related to fire risk on the Maui grid, the \u2064involvement of the Hawai\u2019i State Energy \u2063Office\u200b in grid modernization, and\u200d the potential receipt of funds \u200dfrom recent infrastructure acts.<\/p>\n<p>The letter \u200drequests responses to the queries at the earliest convenience.<\/p>\n<p>On Aug. 29, Hawaiian\u2064 Electric President and CEO \u200dShelee\u200d Kimura, County of Maui Mayor\u2064 Richard T. Bissen Jr., and Major General Kenneth S. Hara, adjutant general for the\u200d state of Ha<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>House Republicans are seeking answers from Hawaiian Electric and other parties about the recent fatal fires in Maui, the condition of the power grid, and steps taken to prevent future occurrences. Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), and H. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) of the Committee on Energy and Commerce have jointly written a letter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":618,"featured_media":2018753,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2018752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2018752","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/618"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2018752"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2018752\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2018753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2018752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2018752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2018752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}