Lessons from the Maui fires on building a climate-resilient network for island communities.

This summer’s fires on Maui are the largest environmental disaster in Hawaiian history. One of them, the deadliest fire in the United States since 1918, caused the near-total destruction of the historic town of Lahaina, resulting in mass displacement of the local population and widespread power outages. The fires raged across the island, which has a population of 160,000, in early August, and damaged power lines were likely one of the immediate causes. Extreme winds from Hurricane Dora and drought conditions, exacerbated by climate change, accelerated the spread of the fire. In this Q&A, the authors analyse the impact of the ongoing fires on Maui on the power grid and local communities and propose solutions for building a climate-resilient grid.

What is the link between the fires and the electricity grid in Maui?

Vulnerable electrical grids increase the risk of fires. Deteriorating components and poor infrastructure maintenance can trigger fires, as was the case with the Camp Fire in California in 2018. Although official investigations into the causes of the recent Maui fires are still ongoing, it is likely[5] that extreme winds caused power lines to collapse and triggered fires in the Lahaina area and, more broadly, across Maui. The need to upgrade Hawaii’s electricity infrastructure had been identified long before the catastrophic events of early August, including the need to replace obsolete pylons on Maui. The question arises as to whether Hawaiian Electric could have established a power outage programme in advance in consultation with local communities and authorities, with potentially less damaging consequences.

Wildfires can impact the electricity grid in several ways, both through direct physical damage to utility infrastructure, such as downed power lines, transformers and substations, and through necessary preventative power shutoffs, such as California’s Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) programme. In addition to lost business, wildfires increase costs for all stakeholders in the energy sector, from investor-owned utilities to state and local governments to taxpayers and taxes. Even power outages not accompanied by tragic fires can have serious impacts on the health and well-being of the local community, as well as negative economic repercussions.