In August 2023 Hawaiʻi Attorney General Anne E. Lopez announced she had selected UL’s Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI), a nonprofit research organization to assess the policies and performance of state and county agencies in preparing for and responding to the Maui wildfires that resulted in significant loss of life and caused about $5.5 billion in damage. FSRI is a research institute dedicated to addressing the world’s unresolved fire safety risks and emerging dangers.
On January 14, 2025, Hawaii state officials released the Lahaina Fire Forward-Looking Report (Phase Three), the third independent report conducted by the FSRI about the Maui wildfires.
Phase Three organizes the findings from the Lahaina Fire Comprehensive Timeline Report (Phase One released Apr 2024) and Lahaina Fire Incident Analysis Report (Phase Two released Sep 2024) and prioritizes a list of action items the state and all counties can use to make improvements to Hawaii’s future preparation for and response to wildfires, including recommendations on how to address each priority.
The report also includes guidance for each county fire department to complete a Community Risk Assessment, Community Risk Reduction plan, and a Standards of Cover analysis. Each of these components are in progress and FSRI has provided the state and counties with guidance documents.
Below are links to all 3 reports in PDF ... and find more on FSRI's Maui Wildfires Analysis site.
Phase One: Fact-Finding About How the Maui Wildfires Incident Unfolded (199 pg PDF)
Phase Two: Analysis of the Data (518 pg PDF)
Phase Three: Best Practices for Hawaiʻi to Take Action Toward Prevention (62 pg PDF)
