The family of a woman who died trying to flee a wildfire on Maui is suing the county, the state and one of Hawaii’s largest landowners, alleging they neglected to maintain their fire-prone property.
The wrongful death complaint, filed Monday in state Second Circuit Court, is the first against the state and the landholder, Bishop Estate, related to the Aug. 8 inferno, which killed 115 people, left more than 300 missing and destroyed the historic town of Lahaina. Hawaiian Electric Co. is also named as a defendant.
It accuses them of negligence, alleging they failed to properly manage dry vegetation surrounding Lahaina and failed to provide adequate warnings and evacuation routes for residents. It also claims the power company failed to de-energize the power grid before the wildfire destroyed Lahaina, the former capital of Hawaii.