Maui Wildfires Possible Cause Revealed in Video, Data

Some of the devastating wildfires that destroyed much of the Hawaiian island of Maui may have been caused by damage to power lines.

Video footage and electricity grid data have been found to correlate, indicating that the first fire on the island may have begun due to a tree falling onto power lines.

A security camera at the Maui Bird Conservation Center in the eastern region of Upcountry, captured a flash in the woods near the center at around 11 p.m. local time on August 7, followed by a blaze churning out smoke after daybreak.

"I think that is when a tree is falling on a power line," Jennifer Pribble, a senior research coordinator at the center, said in a video posted on Instagram by the Hawaiian Department of Land and Natural Resources. "The power goes out, our generator kicks in, the camera comes back online, and then the forest is on fire."