HECO: Customers in wildfire risk areas of Ōmaʻopio and Pūlehu on Maui urged to remain vigilant

Hawaiian Electric continues to closely monitor high winds and humidity levels in the Kawaihae and Waikoloa areas on Hawai‘i Island, as well as in West Maui and parts of Ōmaʻopio and Pūlehu in Kahului. If necessary, the company may implement its Public Safety Power Shutoff program within the next 24 hours and proactively shut off power in communities with high exposure to wildfire risk. 

Customers in these areas are urged to initiate their own emergency plans and prepare for the possibility of outages lasting several hours to days.

PSPS determinations can change at any time based on weather conditions. The criteria for determining a shutoff are persistent drought conditions, wind gusts 45 mph and higher, and relative humidity below 45%. The company analyzes data from weather stations and cameras near its infrastructure in high-risk areas with potential for fire spread. Wind gusts can be stronger in higher elevations than in residential areas.

For more information and maps of areas that have high wildfire risk, go to hawaiianelectric.com/PSPS or call Hawaiian Electric’s PSPS toll-free hotline at 1-844-483-8666.

Current outages are not related to the company’s PSPS program.