“As we continue to support all aspects of the ongoing relief effort,” Lopez said, “now is the time to begin this process of understanding.”
Officials are investigating the exact causes of the wildfires, which ripped across Maui and scorched the historic seaside town of Lahaina. Four lawsuits have been filed against the state’s biggest power utility, Hawaiian Electric, arguing in part that it should have shut off electricity before fierce winds swept into the region.
Gov. Josh Green, the state’s first-term Democratic governor, confirmed to reporters Tuesday that the monstrous blazes in Maui killed at least 101 people. “We are heartsick that we’ve had such loss,” he said at a news conference.
The fires on Maui were the deadliest in the U.S. in 100 years, exceeding the death toll of the Camp Fire in Northern California in 2018, which killed 85 people.
The Hawaii Senate consists of 25 elected members. Keohokalole is its assistant majority whip.
