'She loved the island:' Family of Maui woman who died in wildfires sues county, state

Rebecca Rans loved her life on the island of Maui. She moved to Lahaina more than two decades ago with her three children and raised them with Hawaiian values. She made friends with many people in Lahaina, worked in gift shops and took hula lessons, according to court records.

But that ended tragically when she died in the Maui wildfires alongside her longtime partner Doug Gloege.

Now her family wants answers - and justice.

"The combination of weather, uncontrolled vegetation and aging electrical infrastructure created a tinderbox ready to explode in Maui. The risk was not theoretical. Grass-originated and grass-fed fires continue to increase in Hawaii," according to a civil lawsuit filed by Rans's father, Harold Dennis Wells. Named as defendants are Hawaiian Electric, the county of Maui, the state of Hawaii, the Trustees of the Estate of Bernice Pauahi Bishop and others.

"Maui County knew or should have known that residents of Lahaina, like Rebecca Rans, would foreseeably suffer injury as a result of the Maui County's failure to exercise reasonable and ordinary care," the lawsuit alleges. "As a direct and proximate result of the Maui County's carelessness and negligence, Rebecca Rans suffered death."

The lawsuit is one of several that have been filed since the disaster that left at least 115 people dead and more than 2,000 structures leveled. As of Sept. 3, 385 people remain unaccounted for, said Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, in a video on X, formerly known as Twitter. There are 41 active investigations into those people unaccounted for "after people filed missing persons reports," said Green. Maui police are encouraging people to file missing persons reports if they suspect their loved one is also unaccounted for, he said.

"Why weren't there alarms sounded?... She had severe arthritis in her feet. She could barely walk, let alone run," said Kathleen Hennricks, Rans's sister, during a news conference on Tuesday. FBI agents found the burned remains of Rans's body "behind a building, with those of her boyfriend after they had clearly attempted to flee," a news release written by attorneys representing the family reads.

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The family didn't expect to file a lawsuit, she said, but after hearing Maui Emergency Management Agency Administrator Herman Andaya tell CBS News that he did not regret activating sirens to alert residents about the risk of the wildfires, they felt "a big push" to do it. (Andaya resigned after receiving harsh criticism about his response.)

"I feel like what we're doing is not just about my sister, but all the people who this happened to. And the people who are still not found," said Hennricks.

What does the lawsuit say?

In the lawsuit, Rans's father and his attorneys allege that the county's emergency preparedness and the response was "ill-prepared," the trustees of the Estate of Bernice Pauahi Bishop "cut off escape paths of routes" and the state of Hawaii "not only contributed to the destruction... but also endangered, obstructed, and/or caused the cut off of escape routes for victims fleeing the fire."

All of those factors, Wells claims, including others at the hands of state and county officials, the electric companies in Hawaii and others contributed to the "wrongful death" of Rans, according to court documents.

They argue in the lawsuit that her death could have been prevented because many people knew or should've known a disaster like the catastrophic wildfires could have happened, and therefore should have taken action to prevent it.

"Maui County, Bishop and the State owed the public and Plaintiff the duty to exercise reasonable care in the maintenance of vegetation on their property, including the duties to:

a) Use reasonable care to maintain their property in such a way that would avoid causing injury to members of the public;

b) Prevent and/or remove conditions on its property in such a way that would avoid causing injury to members of the public;

c) Take reasonable steps to abate dangers to the public which exist on their property and under their control; and

d) Adequately manage grasslands and other flammable vegetation on their land to avoid the ignition or spread of wildfire on their land thereby endangering nearby properties," the lawsuit reads.

James Bickerton, one of the family's lawyers in the case and a founding partner of Maui-based Bickerton Law Group, said in a statement that “Rebecca Rans’ death is all the more tragic because of how preventable it was."

"The combination of weather, uncontrolled vegetation and decaying and neglected electrical infrastructure predictably created a tinderbox ready to explode in Maui," he wrote. "The risk was not theoretical – it was visible, palpable and entirely avoidable.”

Bickerton said his firm believes legal action against Maui County and the state of Hawaii is necessary to investigate how they were "involved as responsible parties."

"In many cases, we sit back and let authorities conduct an investigation," he said. "But once it became clear that they were involved as responsible parties, it makes any family believe and understand any investigation is going to need to be independently done."

Wells and his attorneys are seeking damages and a jury trial in the case. Most of the parties named in the lawsuit did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

One of them, Kamehameha Schools, formerly known as Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate, issued a statement Monday that said "Our hearts are with all affected by the Maui fires . . . . Kamehameha Schools is an indigenous educational institution. We are committed to restoring our Native Hawaiian people and culture through education, which includes stewarding and uplifting the health and resiliency of our ‘āina (lands) and Native communities.  As many aspects of the fires are still under investigation, we have no further comment at this time."

'She loved the culture': Who was 'Becky' Rans?

Rans moved to Maui from California more than two decades ago with her three kids, who are now all in their 30s, said Hennricks.

When memorializing her sister, Hennricks said: "She loved the island. She loved the water. She loved the sun." The community of Lahaina became Rans's second family and they knew her as "Becky."

"She loved the culture... One of the few things that survived when they found her bracelet that says 'Ku'uipo,' which means sweetheart," she said. "When we would talk on Facebook messenger, it was always 'aloha.' It was like she just became an islander."

According to the family's claim, Rans "had become a local in her heart and spoke of her Ohana Maui family and friends deeply rooted in Lahaina and Hawaiian traditions."

Rans "was a generous and caring person and the community knew it," it reads. "Many would reach out when down and out on their luck and she would spare anything she could including food and housing because she loved helping people," it reads.

Hennricks said she and her family are "absolutely devastated."

"She was very loved and we miss her. It's still surreal," she said. "There is no amount of money that is going to replace my sister. ... What we've lost is absolutely unfathomable.

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What other legal action has been filed?

The Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) is facing several lawsuits in the face of the disaster. The county of Maui is one entity pointing fingers at the company, claiming power lines caused the destruction. In response to the county's lawsuit, the company said power lines had been "de-energized for more than six hours" before the major fire started.

Meanwhile, several attorneys, including those representing the Rans family, are working with relatives of the victims of those who died in the disaster to seek civil legal action against the county, the state and other parties.

"We are steadfastly committed to protecting the interests of victims and their surviving relatives, and helping ensure the safety of our islands for future generations," said Bridget Morgan-Bickerton, a managing partner of the Bickerton Law Group, the firm representing Rans's family.

At the news conference on Tuesday, Hennricks said she and her family "just feel like we have to do justice for her and the people of the island. ... We don't ever want this to happen to somebody else."

Contributing: Kathleen Wong, USA TODAY

Contact Kayla Jimenez at kjimenez@usatoday.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @kaylajjimenez.