Video footage points to downed utility lines as the spark to some of the devastating wildfires that have killed over 100 people on Maui. 

Footage captured by a security camera at the Maui Bird Conservation Center last Monday showed the moment a power line sparked a blaze in the woods. The video, posted on Instagram by the Hawaii Department of Land Natural Resources and first reported by The Washington Post, shows a bright flash in the woods before the camera’s power cuts off. When the camera comes back online, large flames appear in the distance. 

WATCH: 

“The power goes out, our generator kicks in, the camera comes back online, and then the forest is on fire,” said Jennifer Pribble, a senior research coordinator at the bird conservation center. 

The conservation center where the footage was taken from is in the small rural town of Makawao, just over 30 miles from where a massive fire turned much of the historic city of Lahaina to ash. The Makawao fire was the first of multiple fires reported on the island last week. Prior to the fires, Maui faced strong winds from a hurricane hundreds of miles offshore. While the Makawao blaze didn’t reach Lahaina, it was one of the many fires sparked on the island last Monday and Tuesday that eventually reached the town of 13,000. 

Whisker Labs, which monitors electric grids across the U.S., said that 10 sensors in Makawao recorded a significant incident in Hawaii’s electric grid at the exact moment the video footage captured the bright light from the utility line, the Post reported. The bright flash seen in the video was likely an “arc flash,” which happens when a power line “faults,” according to a Whisker Labs official. 

“This is strong confirmation — based on real data — that utility grid faults were likely the ignition source for multiple wildfires on Maui,” Bob Marshall, the founder and CEO of Whisker Labs, told the Post. 

A spokesman for Hawaiian Electric declined to comment on the video and sensor data, instead focusing on “supporting emergency response efforts, restoring power for our customers and communities, and developing a long-term recovery plan.” 

“We know there is speculation about what started the fires, and we, along with others, are working hard to figure out what happened,” spokesman Darren Pai added. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP

Another video filmed by Lahaina resident Shane Treu, shows him fighting a fire that was sparked by a downed power pole that quickly spread along the side of a road. 

“I heard ‘buzz, buzz,’” Treu told the Associated Press. “It was almost like somebody lit a firework. It just ran straight up the hill to a bigger pile of grass and then, with that high wind, that fire was blazing.”

Hawaiian Electric has faced criticism for not cutting off power as the island faced a wind storm, a policy practiced by utility companies in other states to avoid sparking fires. A class-action lawsuit has already been filed against the company alleging it is responsible for the deaths of more than 100 people, according to the Associated Press.  

“It may turn out that there are other causes of this fire, and the utility lines are not the main cause,” said Michael Wara, a wildfire expert and director of the Climate and Energy Policy Program at Stanford University. “But if they are, boy, this didn’t need to happen.”

Criminal charges against Alec Baldwin related to the fatal shooting death of Halyna Hutchins were dropped, but the actor could still face future charges related to the incident.

The State of New Mexico hired experts Lucien Haag and Mike Haag in its case against “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. They concluded that the trigger of the Colt .45 revolver must have been pulled “sufficiently” enough to cause the accident. 

Baldwin maintains that he never pulled the trigger, but the prop firearm was in his hand when Hutchins was shot and killed. The Santa Fe County District Attorney’s Office charged Baldwin with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in January 2023. The charges were dismissed without prejudice in April.

“Although Alec Baldwin repeatedly denies pulling the trigger, given the tests, findings and observations reported here, the trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver,” the firearms report obtained by People said. “This fatal incident was the consequence of the hammer being manually retracted to its fully rearward and cocked position followed, at some point, by the pull or rearward depression of the trigger.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP

The report noted that “the full-cock step on the hammer had been severely damaged, the top of the trigger’s sear was broken off, and the bolt (cylinder stop) was also broken” due to the incident. But even so, there was no indication of “any modification to the gun.”

Prosecutors previously stated in June that the “30 Rock” star could still face charges in the future, the outlet noted.

“The gun and broken sear have been sent to the state’s independent expert for further testing. The charges against Alec Baldwin were dismissed without prejudice because a possible malfunction of the gun significantly affects causation with regard to Baldwin, not with regard to Gutierrez. If it is determined that the gun did not malfunction, charges against Mr. Baldwin will proceed,” they wrote at the time.

Baldwin has maintained since the incident occurred in 2021 that he did not pull the trigger and claimed the firearm malfunctioned. 

“The trigger wasn’t pulled,” he said during an interview in December 2021. “I didn’t pull the trigger. I would never point a gun at someone and pull the trigger on them, never.”