Aluminum wiring? I remember the island from the 60’s. There weren’t many people or houses there in those years. Lahaina might have been 2,000 people and it was more of a cane/pineapple village than anything one could call a town. Anything that was already there probably was copper-wired but anything that far back has most likely been patched/rebuilt/repaired, etc.
Aluminum worked its way into house construction from about 1970. Most everything that’s there is newer than that including the HECO lines and so is likely aluminum. The historic buildings still there have been built/rebuilt/repaired to the 9’s or they would be gone. Building in Hawaii is expensive so, yeah, going on-the-cheap is how it’s done. I remember copper being about 2X alum. Now it’s more like 10X.
Curiously, Charles Lindberg is buried on the Island. He understood the effects of wet/dry seasons and drainage, etc. He had his own in-ground crypt built using native stone lining so that it would always drain and keep his carcus preserved, maybe for the next millineum. He died there but never said what he had in mind. Don’t know if the fires affected the grove around his place? AFAIK he’s not buried with Hawaiian royalty.
I have never been there, were buildings were pretty close to each other? They will need to take a look at the materials used in buildings and proximity after this.
Similar events in US history. The Chicago and Peshtigo fires happened on the same day in dry windy weather. It probably was not Mrs. OLeary's cow, but someone drinking in her barn.
Snip..."When the flames eventually died out, the damage of the Peshtigo Fire was staggering: The conflagration had consumed 1,875 square miles, obliterated 12 communities, and caused the deaths of between 1,500 and 2,500 people."
Can't blame DEW for these. (I am very dubious of Claims of DEW initiated fires this given the proximity of USN and USAF bases within close radar sweep.) People made mistakes that caused or amplified the spread of these fires. Sounds like the same on Maui. (Did not shut the power down, did not sound the alarm, did not release water.)