New video shows possible cause of Hawaii wildfires

A security camera filmed the moment a Hawaii forest first went up in flames, as the death toll in Maui rose again. Watch the stunning footage.

The moment Hawaii went up in flames was potentially captured in security camera footage that showed a tree falling onto power lines, followed by an explosion and a Maui forest burning.

The time stamp on the footage of a fire beginning in Olinda, captured by the Maui Bird Conservation Centre, correlates with data from the electricity grid and the breakout of wildfires that have killed at least 110 people, with only five identified as at Thursday 7am AEST. More than 1000 remain missing.

“I think that is when a tree is falling on a power line,” Jennifer Pribble, a senior research co-ordinator at the centre, said in a video posted on Instagram by the Hawaiian Department of Land and Natural Resources.

“The power goes out, our generator kicks in, the camera comes back online, and then the forest is on fire.”

High winds blew through a forest in Olinda, in the centre of Maui, on Monday, August 7. Picture: Supplied

A security camera captured a bright flash, described as an “arc flash”, behind the tree line at 10.47pm. Picture: Supplied

The footage was captured at 10.47pm, local time, on Monday, August 7 at the exact moment 10 advanced sensors in the small rural town of Makawao recorded a significant incident in the Hawaiian Electric power grid, according to grid monitoring company Whisker Labs.

While a link has not been confirmed to the other fires across the island, Whisker Labs, which has a network of 78 sensors monitoring the Maui power grid, detected faults in the lines in Lahaina at 2.44am and 3.30am.

The Makawao fire, in the centre of Maui, was the first reported on August 7, followed by the inferno on the west side of the island in Lahaina, which has borne the brunt of the rising death toll.

“This is strong confirmation — based on real data — that utility grid faults were likely the ignition source for multiple wildfires on Maui,” Bob Marshall, the founder and CEO of Whisker Labs, told The Washington Post.

The power goes out before a generator kicks in and films a fire beginning in the same location as the flash, thought to have been a tree falling on power lines. Picture: Supplied

Hawaii Governor Joshua Green quickly linked the extent of the devastation in Hawaii to climate change, saying the “age of global warming, was the ultimate reason that so many people perished”.

Asked about the correlation between video footage and sensor data, a spokesman for Hawaiian Electric declined to comment on whether damage to the island’s power lines was a potential cause of the fire.

“We know there is speculation about what started the fires, and we, along with others, are working hard to figure out what happened,” he said.

Some Maui residents have filed a lawsuit against several power companies, including Hawaiian Electric Industries, alleging liability for the damage caused by the fires.

The next morning the fire had spread to other areas of the forest. Picture: Supplied

“Despite the National Weather Service issuing a High Wind Watch and Red Flag Warning —and cautioning both that damaging winds could blow down power lines and that any fires that developed would likely spread rapidly —Defendants Maui Electric Company, Limited (”MECO”); Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc. (”HECO”); Hawaii Electric Light Company, Inc. (”HELCO”); and Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (”HEI”) (collectively, “Defendants”) inexcusably kept their power lines energised during forecasted high fire danger conditions,” the lawsuit said.

In the footage posted online that is speculated to be the cause of the first fire, the narrator says the forest is windy before the footage is lit up by a bright flash, which Mr Marshall described as a likely “arc flash” from power lines being hit and releasing sparks.

The footage cuts forward from the 10.47pm explosion on August 7 to 6.50am the next morning, August 8, showing workers rushing towards smoke in a separate part of the forest.

Smoke billowing from destroyed buildings as wildfires burn across Maui, Hawaii. Picture: AFP

Burned palm trees and destroyed cars and buildings in the aftermath of a wildfire in Lahaina, western Maui. Picture: AFP

“I grabbed two fire extinguishers and we put out the fire on the edge of the property here, and then basically started again so ran inside and got more fire extinguishers, hoses, whatever I could find,” Ms Pribble said in the video.

“We tried to contain it the best we could, just to prevent it from getting out of control. I texted Lands and said it’s in the grass, trying to jump the road, and we need some assistance.”

The Makawao fire was one of several that ripped through Hawaii, with the worst in Lahaina where authorities have said is 85 per cent contained. Other fires burned in Upcountry/Kula, Pulehu/Kihei, and Puʻukoliʻi/Kaʻanapali.

Originally published as New video shows possible cause of Hawaii wildfires