Electric line crews try to replace fallen utility poles on Honoapiilani Highway near Puamana as black smoke billows from fires raging in Lahaina on the afternoon of Aug. 8. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

Hawaiian Electric said falling power lines appear to have caused the early morning fire on Aug. 8 in Lahaina but that the company’s lines were off for more than six hours by the time the second, more devastating fire flared up and spread across town.

The company released its first detailed account of the fire late Sunday night after Maui County filed a lawsuit last week casting blame on the utility, alleging that downed lines and HECO’s failure to shut off the power caused the fire that destroyed more than 2,000 structures and left at least 115 dead.

“Unfortunately the county’s lawsuit may leave us no choice in the legal system but to show its responsibility for what happened that day,” Hawaiian Electric President and CEO Shelee Kimura said in a statement.

According to Hawaiian Electric, the fire that began around 6:30 a.m. “appears to have been caused by power lines that fell in high winds,” as seen in videos taken by local residents that showed a small fire by downed power lines near the intersection of Lahainaluna Road and Hookahua Street that spread to the field across the street from Lahaina Intermediate.

The Maui Fire Department responded to the early morning fire, which triggered evacuations in the area surrounding the intermediate school, and declared it 100 percent contained shortly before 9 a.m., according to a county news release at the time.

HECO said the Fire Department determined the fire was extinguished and that crews left the scene by 2 p.m. — which Fire Chief Brad Ventura also said in a statement last week to The New York Times.

Hawaiian Electric said emergency crews arriving at Lahainaluna Road in the afternoon to make repairs saw no fire, smoke or embers. Shortly before 3 p.m., crew members called 911 to report a small fire about 75 yards away from Lahainaluna Road in the field near Lahaina Intermediate.

The county reported the fire as a flareup at the time and closed the Lahaina Bypass around 3:30 p.m. HECO claims that by the time the fire broke out around 3 p.m., power had been out for more than six hours.

“There was no electricity flowing through the wires in the area or anywhere else on the West Maui coast,” the company said, adding that it told investigators with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that it has records to prove it.

“By the time the Maui County Fire Department arrived back on the scene, it was not able to contain the Afternoon Fire and it spread out of control toward Lahaina,” HECO said.

The second, more deadly afternoon fire destroyed most of Lahaina town. Residents filed multiple lawsuits blaming HECO for not shutting off the power, and the company’s stock dropped after Maui County also said HECO’s equipment was the cause of the deadly blaze.

“To the extent HECO has information of a second ignition source, HECO should offer that evidence now,” attorney John Fiske of Baron and Budd, one of the law firms representing the county in its lawsuit, said via email on Monday in response to HECO’s statement. “The ultimate responsibility rests with HECO to de-energize, ensure its equipment and systems are properly maintained, and ensure downed power lines are not energized.”

Hawaiian Electric has an extensive system of electrical equipment in West Maui, where it serves more than 12,000 customers. An assessment on Aug. 14 found that the high winds and fire damaged or destroyed 400 out of 750 poles, visibly damaged 300 out of 575 transformers and destroyed the Lahaina substation.

Weeks after the fire, hundreds of HECO workers and contractors have been working to restore power to remaining pockets of customers in Upcountry and West Maui.

Lawsuits by residents and the county raised concerns over Hawaiian Electric’s sagging wires and aging equipment, saying the company should have shut off the power and been better prepared for the high winds.

Maui County’s lawsuit says Hawaiian Electric should have known the risk that its uninsulated lines and above-ground infrastructure would pose, particularly during the red flag warning that the National Weather Service issued days earlier, cautioning of fire risk amid high winds and low humidity. It alleges that HECO’s equipment caused both the Kula and Lahaina fires and is seeking damages for impacted residents.

In some places like California where deadly wildfires have been linked to power equipment, companies have programs in place that will automatically shut off power during emergencies or when lines go down. Kimura said during a news conference on Aug. 14 that this program is “controversial and it’s not universally accepted,” because of the risk it could create for people relying on specialized medical equipment and that first responders also needed power to pump water during the fire.

HECO continues to maintain that the cause of the second fire has yet to be determined as federal investigators continue their probe.

“There are important lessons to be learned from this tragedy by all of us collectively, and we are resolved to figure out what we need to do to keep our communities safe as climate issues rapidly intensify here and around the globe,” Kimura said in the statement Sunday night.

* Managing Editor Colleen Uechi can be reached at cuechi@mauinews.com.