A judge is forcing Hawaii to give wildfire investigation documents to lawyers handling lawsuits

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A judge on Friday forced the Hawaii attorney general's office turn over to lawyers involved in the hundreds of lawsuits over last summer's Maui wildfires all documents, interviews and data collected by the outside team hired to investigate the disaster. The state refused, saying disclosing the records would “jeopardize and hinder” the investigation. Last month Lopez and representatives from the Fire Safety Research Institute released a report on the first phase of the investigation, which said the head of the emergency management agency dragged his heels about returning to the island amid the unfolding crisis, while a broad communications breakdown left authorities in the dark and residents without emergency alerts.