Honokoa, formerly known as Kailapa, became the first Hawaiian homestead on Hawaii Island to earn Firewise Communities recognition in 2016. As the community continues to expand their wildfire protection efforts at the grassroots level, HWMO provided further assistance by giving a presentation to the community on wildfire readiness programs including Firewise and ReadySetGo! HWMO’s Community Outreach Coordinator, Pablo Beimler, presented to over 30 Honokoa residents at the community’s annual association meeting.
Towards the end of the presentation, Pablo plugged Community Wildfire Preparedness Day on May 6 as a great way for residents to get involved in wildfire protection efforts. The Firewise Committee is planning a community wide chipper day for May 6, using $500 they were awarded from State Farm and National Fire Protection Association. The community will also be granted $5,000 from U.S. Forest Service through HWMO facilitation to create additional fuelbreaks to protect Honokoa on the north end of the subdivision. Mahalo Honokoa for all of the hard work you continue to put in to protect the community from wildfire!
Honokoa Annual Meeting Wildfire Readiness Presentation