Security video appears to show what triggered deadly Maui fire l GMA

A security camera captured a bright flash in the woods that may have been a tree falling on a power line on August 7, one day before the fire was reported.

#news #maui #wildfire #hawaii #abcnews

[apollobay]

I am born and raised on Oahu listening monthly to the testing of the emergency siren system. The excuse for these not being activated is preposterous. They are for ANY type of emergency, not just tsunamis and they can be heard throughout the islands not just the coastlines. This fire started before 11pm on the 7th, more than 12 hours before the flames engulfed Lahaina on the evening of the 8th. People were still getting out in the late afternoon on the 8th. If the sirens had been activated people would have gone outside their homes and businesses early on the 8th to assess what the emergency was and been able to evacuate. They would not have “run to higher ground into the fire”.
Hundreds of lives would have been saved.

[jdwar]

There really needs to be a freeze on all property transfers to protect these people from the vultures that are without doubt trying to swoop in.

[garysweetserii]

Power was shut off hours before fires started. This has been confirmed by several local residents.

[TheeMissingLinc]

YOU KNOW GOD DAM WELL THIS WASNT NO POWER LINE

[arribaficationwineho]

Why were citizens blocked from the only road exiting town?

[skierprincessakify]

The stories about people being found dead with their pets absolutely kills me. So beyond heartbreaking. I’m so sorry for the loss of all the lives.

[toughtimes]

As someone who has lost their home to fire, the possessions mean nothing. But too many have lost far more. My heart and prayers go out to all of Hawaii

[truthseeker]

I'm from Northern Ireland, and once a massive bomb went off outside our house, we all ran out and one of the most memorable things I saw was the broken power lines coming down, the broken wires flailed about all over the place like massive snakes, with flames and massive sparks coming off them, but there was no huge flash like the video clip, in fact there was not even a flash like that from the 300lb bomb!

[acbonness]

The government and their agencies must be held accountable. There was no reason for this tragedy.

[Blynat]

The people, pets, wildlife and history lost are just heart breaking.

[breaksquad]

The sirens they use in Hawaii are giant voice speakers meaning that they are electrical loudspeakers so technically they could’ve used the voice feature to announce a page to the entire island for an evacuation. It is also known that these specific sirens have different tones that play for different emergencies. I am just pointing it out there that not only could they have activate these sirens, they could’ve used the loudspeaker system to inform residents. I remember countless news articles saying “sirens are irrelevant now and phone notifications are the new norm” well, where the heck were the phone notifications and why the actual hell did they not activate these sirens

[hellybelle]

Whatever sparked it isn't as important as why didn't they set the alarms off? Who, and why was the water tuned off? Absolutely horrific!

[supermaniac]

With modern technology, emergency text notification alerts should have been sent to residents as soon as these fires started as power companies knew power drops occurred and possible fires and evacuation orders were imminent. So sad to see this happening in Hawaii. My heart goes out to these people in Maui. I’ve been in a fire evacuation situation before. It’s absolutely terrifying to know a fire is approaching your home. They should have been notified by emergency services much earlier. I’m sure that’s why the emergency response team leader resigned. They dropped the ball on alerting the people. What’s the point of having emergency alert sirens if you don’t use them??

[rustyshackelford]

So nothing said about the water being cut off to the firefighters, and that's why the fire spread? Great reporting, as always.

[SJmystic]

With all due respect, someone should examine what this flash looks like against many other videos that I think could be found where we specifically see a power line at the time it breaks. This looks quite different to me and I think that's what would be found if a comparison were done. I think what occurred was something quite different . . .

[kimberlygabaldon]

Deepest condolences to all who have lost loved ones.

[kennywest]

It's direct energy weapons for a fact how come the cars are burned into the concrete and nearby trees are left unharmed? Look at the aerial view of the fire areas the locations that were on fire are specific and direct

[shirleyspadorcio]

There are so many untold stories and answers still not given. My biggest complaint is why authorities barricaded the only road that people were trying to drive out from and away from the fire? The Police Chief/Medical Examiner needs to answer this question and stop avoiding it! I don’t care if they were repairing a section of the road or putting in a sewer line, that road should never have remained closed to the people!

[ShakedownShaman]

What are the odds that a security camera would be pointed directly at the location the fire supposedly started? And it doesn't explain the several anomalies so it seems to me like the camera intentionally caught what they want you to believe started the fire

[matthiasvanrhijn]

This must be investigated independently!!! 💔