Judge Peter Cahill issued an order Friday requiring all sides to talk next month after defendant Hawaiian Electric Industries joined plaintiffs in asking him to step in.

Letters to judge show rare common ground between opposing parties.

The lawsuit comes after parties failed to meet a Friday deadline for a mediated settlement.

UPDATED: Gov. Josh Green says settlement is not final but that parties are working toward a resolution in the near future.

As HECO tries to get new clean energy projects going, island leaders are discussing whether to make it mandatory to bury more power lines safely below ground.

The plan builds on similar wildfire prevention efforts by other utilities that began years ago in fire-prone parts of the mainland U.S.

The power company says it was Maui that failed to control vegetation and fumbled the response that allowed devastating fires to sweep through Lahaina in August.

The first wildfire case to be heard by a Maui jury is to be determined by a coin toss next week.

The power company now hopes to get approval from regulators to secure a $250 million credit line.

The utility wanted to add a fee of up to 5% to customers' bills to finance the program, but a key Senator balked. The governor has stepped in to try to save it.