The head of Hawaiian Electric told house lawmakers the cause of the wildfire that spread has not been determined pinpointing because it could take several months to more than a year. She pledged cooperation of multiple ongoing investigations into what exactly happened. Energy and commerce subcommittee hearing is just over two hours. [background noises] [background noises] before we get started went to take a brief moment of point of personal privilege and the cardinal nooses mind is an article about virginias connection with hawaii and its history. Some of which is good some is not one of the interesting points as a congressman from the ninth district of virginia at the district that currently represent a democrat but the name oftl jennings was the only virginian to vote for hawaiian statehood. Until we are kind of a proud of that our section of the state is little different than other of the state sometimes good sometimes bad but mostly good with that being said vulvar gas would please take their seats. Subcommittee and oversight investigation now come to order. I now recognize myself for five minutes for an Opening Statement. On august 7 at 87th and eighth a series of fires broke out on the island of maui. That including one that devastated the town on the west coast of maui. While they Hawaiian Electric company the county of maui disputes and facts surrounding these events one thing is certain. This series of fires were catastrophic to the state of hawaii. We must make every effort to be vigilant and try and prevent a similar disaster from striking again. Tragically the fire took at least 97 lives. Burn the thousands of acres cost billions of dollars in damage and destroyed multiple native hawaiian cultural and historical landmarks. I am deeply saddened to the stories of those whoi survived andew awaiting news of their lod ones who still remain unaccounted for. Who are still searching for housing and who are wrestling with how they will survive after the fire consumed businesses and erase the islands Tourism Industry but many continue to debate which exact decisions and circumstances contribute to the catastrophics it is not too early to start examining what can be donee better. For example some wildfire experts dense and flammable non native grasses have multiplied across island in recent years facilitate the deadly spread of the recent fires. Other reports of cited utility law experts who maintain Hawaiian Electric waited too long to pursue important upgrades to harden and modernize electric grid against wildfire risk. Still others have argued maui Electric Company a subsidiary of Hawaiian Electric was particular slow in replacing outdated and deterioratingpl poles supporting its power lines. There were many decisionmakers involved along the way theres still much to sort out. Too that end probe some of the concerns some of these concerns are august 2023 letter to each of our invited witnesses. Requesting Additional Information on efforts to address wildfire. We think our witnesses for their requests look forward to discussing later today. I like to introduce each of our witnesses for the first family join today by mrs. Shelley president chief executive officer Hawaiian Electric company, Hawaiian ElectricSubsidiary Corporation now Electric Company provides service on maui Hawaiian Electrics its corporations provide 95 of hawaiis residents. Finally we hear from somebody in there somewhere. Mr. Energy officer of Hawaii State Energy office the Office Develop support and supports state energy goals we also welcome chairman of the hawaii Public Utilities commission. He served as the commissioner cr since april 2019 as chair july of 2022. The Commission Among other thingsio regulate literacy rates empower Service Parameters a Public Utility Companies operating in the state merely after it we will convene a second panel consisting of testimony from our colleagues from the hawaiian correctional delegation representative ed kason weiss for statistical test if i will also protest money from representative jolt to cuda whose Second District of hawaiii includes island of maui. There several hundred weight and speculation around the days in which the fire spread and about what has been done or has not been done in years prior. However congress has a responsibility to pursue a Safe NationalEnergy Policy which includes electric infrastructure prepared for events like wildfires and hurricane. Congress has a portion of that responsibility on the state regulators and private sector partners accordingly. Its extremely important we convene today to begin to ask the hard questions. Given this committees role in protecting utility infrastructure and its general jurisdiction over power utilities will focus today on that aspect of the disaster. I hope we have learned that what we learn will form efforts of the federal, state, local level that would protect and reduce the chances of preventable losses of life and property for wildfires in the future. That said i will also tell you we have another hearing went on downstairs look at the electric grid. You will seat members moving in and out because some members on both subcommittees i think the witnesses for being here and participating in our efforts one from his horrible events to prevent similar disasters from unfolding in such a deadly and destructivee manner going forward. With that i yield back and now recognize the Ranking Member of the subcommittee for a five minute Opening Statement by. Thank you, mr. Chairman, good morning everyone. Justd over seven weeks ago powerful wildfires devastated the town of lahaina on the island of maui in hawaii. This was a sudden and horrific tragedy. On behalf of the democratic side we extend our sincere condolences. Nearly 100 people died. Many more have lost their homes and businesses. The firsthand accounts of how quickly the fire spread and the chaos and confusion that resulted are horrendous. Many hawaiiangh neighbors, military service and coast guard members raced to rescue people thatat day. They work to the smokes, flames and pollution to save lives. They are heroes. Many others respond and the immediate aftermath and more on the ground now dedicating to recovery and relief. I understand over 27 federal partners including fema, epa, the u. S. Army, Small Business administration are helping the people of maui get back on their feet. I appreciate the hands on approach representative and senators and how they are supporting and advocating for their neighbors. Top of mind for the congress at this moment of a threatened Government Shutdown must be to a rick ensure the recovery work continues uninterrupted for the people of maui. Today i hope we can learn more about the conditions that cause the fire at what Else Congress can do for the island. Dthere are things we do know already. We know the strong winds from a combined withne Drought Conditions and dry in dy vegetation led to advance warning eight fire on mount we e know the fire started on the edge of town on mauis a west wt coast and quickly grew out of control. Ultimately debits in the town claiming theat lives of too many neighbors. Fire crews were dealing with another fire. We know people are suffering from losses of their Friends Family anden homes Fire Fighters are still working to contain wildfires elsewhere. What we do not know is the exact cause of thet fire and what more if anything could have been done to prevent are starting to spread. Hawaiian electric said one of its power lines ignited an earlier fire in lahaina the morning of august 8. The Maui Fire Department said it had extinguished that fire. But then fire it was reported again and the same location and it quickly spread. Although National Weather service in honolulu began a list issuing alerts before it began important questions remain about whether or more could have been done to notify residents or deenergize a powerline sooner there critical about local officials took in the five years since he wildfire struck maui in 2018. These are important questions that are already being investigated. While i strongly a believe we in congress have an important oversight role to play i do think it wouldve been helpful to have the benefits of on the ground finding from the authorities before pulling the attention of our witnesses away from Recovery Efforts to appear before us. Nonetheless i appreciate your willingness to be here today and hope we can learn more about this tragedy. Whether how itra might have been prevented what can be done to prevent future tragedies like this. Including ensuring that investment made for grid hardening under bipartisan info structure lot and the Inflation Reduction Act are delivered quickly andck effectively. I would also like to learn more about how electric and other infrastructure can be rebuilt in a more resilient way. It has only been seven weeks since the lahaina fire the emergency is not over. Investigators deserve time to do the work thoroughly and present their findings. Until we get a clear picture our primary focus must continue to be on relief and Recovery Efforts for the people of maui. That includes keeping government open and ensuring federal resources are available to them. Thank you, mr. Chairman i yield back. A gentle lady yields back i reckons a chairwoman make the chair of the full committee. Thank you chair. Its a critical what we are examining the tragic events that unfolded on the Hawaiian Island of maui last month for on augusf fires broke out on the island including t one that destroyed e town of lahaina. Our deepest condolences to the people of maui as they face the daunting task of rebuilding their communities. Mourn the loss of loved ones and wrap with the painful memories of that terrifying tapered the pain of seeing your home and your neighbors home destroyed within a matter of hours or even minutes is gut wrenching. At least 97 lives were lost to this disaster. Wewe continue to pray that god provides strength and comfort to their loved ones. Many are still missing. According to an estimate from the university of hawaii specific Disaster Center at cent least 2200 buildings wereis destroyed with about 86 of those buildings being residential. Weight must do everything we can to minimize the chance that such a destructive and deadly disaster will occur again on a maui or anywhere i else in the country. And unfortunately if we fail to learn from this event that very well could. The hawaiian wildlife managemene organization reports that feature the percentage of total land burned by wildfire in hawaii is equal to or greater than any other state in the nation. According to the wildfire experts from the university of hawaii the area burned across all four counties in hawaii each year has increased by three 100 within the last several decades. Eastern washingtonians are no strangers to the disaster consequences of wildfires either. Last month did create an oregon road fires destroyed hundreds of homes, forced evacuation have been linked to two deaths. Hundreds are still recovering from an coping with the destruction of these wildfires. Its difficult to revisit the disaster that occurred weight must examine any factors that could have caused or worsened theid emergency. Identify any unnecessary hazards that were allowed to persist and pinpoint any additional precautions that could have beet taken. I understand the debate about the factors behind the cause and spread of the fires continued. The Hawaiian Electric acknowledgeno that an Early Morning fire on august 8 appears to have been then caused by power lines and fell at high winds. What happened after that particular concern in the second fire that swept through lahaina that afternoon destroyed lives and the town remains open to investigation. Part of our job here in congress is to ensure every american has access to affordable and reliable energy. That responsibility includes making sure energy comes from safe wealth maintain infrastructure. There is emphasis on the competing priorities when it comes to modernizing our electric grid in recent years spread however we must make sure safety means a top priority. I grid thats not prepared for extreme weather or is an adequately maintained is not only unreliable but also on acceptable safety hazard that could potentially cost billions of dollars and endanger lives. While we cannot prevent and control every hazard such as a high wind that struck maui leading up to the fire wheat must harden our grid to hazard address wildfire risk such as it vegetation, overgrowth and implement appropriate precautions for extreme weather. We appreciate all of the witnesses traveling across the country to be here today. You have a difficult road ahead of you and rebuilding after this tragic events. I hope that today we can learn how congress can be a Strong Partner for utilities and state agencies in addressing grid safety concerns. While there other investigations ongoing we hope this hearing provide some clarity on how and why this disaster unfolded such a catastrophic manner. What steps can be taken to minimize the likelihood of it occurring again. I yield back. As a gentle lady yields back a record is the Ranking Member of the full committee for his fiveminute Opening Statement for. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Wildfires it swept of the town iof lahaina on august 8 for catastrophic disaster. I want to offer my deepest sympathy to all those affected. It is a devastating tragedy we must ensure Congress Supports the island every way we can. There are many Unanswered Questions about how this terrible tragedy happened and i am not going to go through all of the things that have been mentioned in terms of what happened or what we know. I know the First Responders try to contain the blaze some residents were able to evacuate but e tragically it was not enoh the fire went completely out of control. Say we cannot overestimate or overstate the enormity of the disaster at the destruction it brought in the fact so many people died and are still missing and in many of the deceased have not been identified and many residents are livingnt in temporary shelts because homes are gone. Officials estimate over 2000 structures were damaged or destroyed. Its going to be a very long road to rebuild Emergency Responders has been mentioned is working day and night to fight the ongoing fires in remote areas of the island. Many factors appear to have contributed to the catastrophic of this for extremely high winds pushing f flames or drive vegetation rapidly escalated the fire spread prevented successful firefighting efforts. Evacuation routes are blocked by police due to downed trees and power lines which resulted in bottlenecks and gridlock on the few roads in and out of lahaina and Power Outages and damaged cell towers exacerbated the communication problems and created further confusion. We do not know why emergency sirens were not activated toward residents or what role the may have played in sparking the fire that ultimately destroyed lahaina. In terms of the government response acting governorha dick this declared a state of emergency of the day the fire started in two days later it the disaster declaration which was immediately granted by the by demonstration. Within 48 hours fema was on the ground and maui assembling crews for search and rescue and survivore assistance. Several official investigations are underway to get to the bottom of this disaster. The attorney general has commissioned the Fire Safety Research institute to conduct a thorough examination of the causes. Its expected to make multiple interim reports before issuing a final report and recommendations around august of next year. Those on the growth of most information and experience appropriate authorities to examine the causes of the fire. And i look forward to hearing from our witnesses. I am concerned this hearing is shifting attention and resources away from ongoing relief efforts on maui the official investigations that are still in the early stages. Congress should focus on ensuring the federal government can continue providing relief to the people of maui. That means funding the government and funding Femas Disaster Relief Fund which the present has asked us to do. That is something specifically and only we can and should do without delay. A reckless Government Shutdown which we know is imminent with slope mauis ability to rebuild and recover. After all this disaster is not overpaid thousands of people ara displaced in a desperate need of permanent housing. Firefighters are still working and utility crews are working to restore power and repair damaged infrastructure. I am hopeful the investigations will provide answers so we can learn from this tragedy to ensure this does not happen again. But right now we must do all that we can to support the residence of Maui Recovery and rebuild. A shutdown is not