Harold Dennis Wells, the father of a 57-year-old woman named Rebecca Rans who died while trying to escape the Maui wildfires that ravaged Lahaina last month, filed the suit on Monday in state court and alleges the defendants were aware of the wildfire risks but squandered years away before taking appropriate preventative measures, Bickerton Law Group LLLP said in a statement.
The plaintiff claims that Maui County officials were underprepared for the fire and should be held liable for failing to warn its residents of the fire's imminent approach, which may have given Rans and others enough time to flee the area, the statement said.
The suit also cites lack of vegetation management and failure to implement preventative measures in vulnerable locations in parts of the county.
The plaintiff also names the state's electric utility, Hawaiian Electric Company, which is already facing several lawsuits, including one brought by the state of Hawaii, over the fires.
The suit alleges that Hawaiian Electric ignored warnings from the National Weather Service about the fire dangers in early August, and that the company should have deenergized their power lines to prevent the fire spreading, according to the statement.