07:20 AM EDT, 10/03/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Hawaiian Electric Industries ( HE ) unit Hawaiian Electric issued a statement late Wednesday in response to reports from the Maui Fire Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, detailing the findings of their investigations into the cause and origin of the Mau windstorm and wildfires on Aug. 8, 2023.

Hawaiian Electric said the reports "make clear that the devastation in Lahaina resulted from a combination of many factors and the actions of many parties."

The utility said the Maui Fire Department and ATF determined that the fire that impacted Lahaina was "accidental in nature," and largely affirmed the company's original understanding of the timeline of events, which included a fire reported at 6:35 a.m. and caused by the company's equipment damaged by high winds.

The company said the Maui County Fire Department then responded to that "small fire" in that morning, declared it had been "extinguished," and then left the scene.

The timeline of events culminated in an afternoon fire that "began in the same area shortly after [the Fire Department's] departure and spread to Lahaina," the company added.

"We deeply regret that our operations contributed to the fire that ignited in the morning," Hawaiian Electric said. "Confronted by an extraordinary weather event and a chaotic situation, our employees brought their best efforts to their jobs, as they do every day."

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