May 24, 2024
Fire departments across the state are reevaluating their emergency communication capabilities after the Maui wildfires, when the vulnerability of the island’s cellular network — and a lack of advanced communication tools in fire vehicles — complicated efforts by first responders …
May 21, 2024
As Maui continues to recover from the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century, Hawaii officials are looking at preventing another similar disaster ahead of what is expected to be a dry, fire-prone season, Gov. Josh Green said in …
May 20, 2024
A University of Hawaii study examining the health effects of last year’s deadly wildfires on Maui found that up to 74% of participants may have difficulty breathing and otherwise have poor respiratory health, and almost half showed signs of compromised …
May 10, 2024
A judge on Friday forced the Hawaii attorney general’s office to turn over to lawyers involved in the hundreds of lawsuits over last summer’s Maui wildfires all documents, interviews and data collected by the outside team hired to investigate the …
May 8, 2024
Had emergency responders known about widespread cellphone outages during the height of last summer’s deadly Maui wildfires, they would have used other methods to warn about the disaster, county officials said in a lawsuit. Alerts the county sent to cellphones …
May 7, 2024
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green has formed a Climate Advisory Team (CAT) made up of experts and stakeholders to deal with the challenges of climate disasters and to build a roadmap for the state’s strategy to mitigate the financial impact of …
December 29, 2023
Insurers pulling back from an increasingly risky California market grabbed the attention of Insurance Journal readers this year. This was the subject of the top four most popular stories in Insurance Journal’s West region in 2023. Eight articles on this …
December 20, 2023
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said he was requesting $425 million from lawmakers during the next fiscal year to help Maui recover from August’s wildfires, and millions more to reduce the risk of wildfires statewide. The proposed budget is Green`s first …
October 4, 2023
Nearly two months after the deadly Maui wildfires, Hawaiian Electric Co. revealed the limited scope of insurance coverage it holds in the face of potentially billions of dollars in damage claims. Hawaiian Electric has $165 million in annual general liability …
October 2, 2023
Hours before devastating fires scorched the historic town of Lahaina on Maui, Kyle Ellison labored to save his rental house in Kula, a rural mountain town 24 miles away, from a different blaze. As high winds whipped burning trees and …