The state Supreme Court on Thursday quickly denied a Board of Land and Natural Resources petition that claimed a judge’s ruling prevented enough water from being available to fight the Upcountry wildfires.
On the day after wind-driven wildfires broke out across Maui, the state filed a complaint to the state Supreme Court claiming that, due to a judge’s ruling, there was not enough water to fight the flames that destroyed some 19 Upcountry homes and thousands of acres.
Attorney s for the state alongside Alexander and Baldwin file a petition to the Hawaii supreme court claiming there was quote "Not enough permitted water to battle the wildfires on Maui"
The lawsuit alleges Hawaiian Electric and its subsidiaries acted negligently by failing to turn off power to their electrical equipment despite a National Weather Service “red flag warning” for high-risk wildfire conditions Aug. 8.
The case involves a June ruling by 1st Circuit Environmental Court Judge Jeffrey Crabtree to limit East Maui stream diversions to 31.5 million gallons per day from the previous 40.49 million gallons authorized by the Hawai’i Board of Land and Natural Resources.