Well, they are quickly BURYING the possibilities of ARSON and neglect shown by the fire department by leaving before INSURING that the initial fire was totally put out.
We know lines came down and started fires, so, arson may be a “possibility” in addition, but for sure we know the former.
Conditions were so extreme that right-of-ways would have had to be both regularly mowed and watered to keep fires from starting if lines came down. Fires would progress slower in mowed dry grass, but, they are also more difficult to detect precisely because they are smaller until they reach an unmowed area. There’s just no alternative to preventing sparks in dry fuel.
The possible solutions are:
Mow and water regularly. (Expensive.)
Better line maintenance. (Expensive.)
Bury the lines. (Probably not practical throughout.)
Kill the power under red flag conditions.
The last is most practical, BUT, then you have a whole ‘nother problem if something else starts a fire (campfire of homeless people, cigarette, lightning, power equipment or vehicle, arson, etc.) With power off, fewer people will get warnings on TV, wall powered radios, in many cases Internet, etc. So, you really have to have alternatives that work and a public well informed on the topic. Even then, you ALSO have a problem of any residents who may need power for medical gear, plus an extended outage means many people with spoiled food in refrigerators and freezers, many may not be able to cook, gas stations may not be able to pump, and so on.
My Dad was a Forester with quite a bit of experience, mostly in his younger days, fighting fires, plus he had a degree in Forest Management and regularly consulted in that area until shortly before he had a debilitating stroke. He’d have been absolutely aghast that no one was left to monitor the area of a substantial fire that was thought to have been put out, until conditions improved substantially. This does NOT have to be a regular firefighter, although it’s probably a little better IF one can be spared. It’s just too easy for some little ember to keep going, undetected for hours...
One gets the idea that the decision-makers in Maui had no clue as to what they were up against, until it was far too late. :-(