Firewise Communities is quickly taking the Kawaihae area by storm. Kohala-By-The-Sea, the longest running certified Firewise Community in the state, and one of the newest Firewise Communities, Honokoa, are both located in the arid Kawaihae region. Kohala Waterfront is the next community to step up to the plate. On April 19, as a major step towards certification, a couple residents from the gated community on the makai side of the highway (and directly across from Kohala-By-The-Sea) met with HWMO and HFD representatives to conduct a Firewise hazard assessment. They visited several homes to point out and document fire hazards and successful Firewise practices put in place. They also walked along a stretch of the Ala Kahakai Trail which runs adjacent to the makai side of the community. One of the main community-wide hazards they noted were overgrown kiawe trees adjacent to several homes. U.S. Forest Service, through HWMO’s administration, has granted the community $5,000 for a fuels reduction project, which HWMO recommended could be put towards kiawe limbing.
Native kou growing on mowed green belts that serve as living fuelbreaks along roadsides within Kohala Waterfront.
There are lots of signs of previous burns throughout the subdivision including this charred stump of a kiawe tree.
