Kaʻū ReadySetGo! Wildfire Preparedness Weekend

This past weekend, as part of Wildfire Preparedness Month, Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization (HWMO) teamed up with Nā Mamo O Kāwā (NMOK), and led a workshop on Friday night to help community members learn about the Ready Set Go! fire preparedness framework. Many people in the group were volunteer firefighters from the Kaʻū area, and had plenty of knowledge to share with everyone in the room. This wonderful night, which was hosted at the historic Pahala Plantation House was filled with anecdotal stories and great information to be absorbed as the community examined its current fire situation.

Before Ladder Fuel Thinning…

After!

Community members were able to take immediate action the next day as we got our hands dirty in Kāwā restoration efforts. We got to put our ladder fuel knowledge into action as we removed lower branches of christmasberry and ʻekoa that could easily help a fire climb into the upper canopy of the forest. We planted several Firewise native plants including ʻaʻaliʻi that are now able to grow under the shade of the freshly pruned canopy. Members of NMOK taught us about the cultural significance of Kāwā, and the methods they are using to restore such an important place. In all, over 20 people participated in the 2 events, and we would like to extend a sincere mahalo for being a part of such a successful weekend!

Hawaii Island (Kailapa) Vegetative Fuels Management Collaborative Action Planning Workshop

Thank you to everyone who joined us!

Fire follows fuel. On February 26 at the Hawaii Innovation Center in Hilo, we convened a huge group of 48 people on Hawaii Island representing a patchwork of different agencies, groups, and organizations across a variety of fields to come together to plan for collaborative, large-scale vegetation management to reduce wildfire risks throughout the island. This was part of a series of workshops on Oahu, Kauai, and Hawaii Island we held in February on this matter (we had a similar meeting on Maui in 2018). Big mahalo to the Kailapa community, a nationally recognized Firewise Community on Hawaiian Home Lands in Kawaihae, for hosting us at their beautiful new pavilion.

During the workshop, participants:

• Checked out the results of recent efforts to map current management of hazardous vegetative fuels (thanks to all of the information that partners contributed).

• Identified and discussed shared regional fuels management priorities to mitigate the risks of wildfire across our island landscapes through a facilitated series of small and large group conversations.

Marking values at risk and important areas for risk reduction.

Sharing ideas for next step priority actions.

Voting for priority project ideas.

The knowledge and priorities of the participants will contribute to planning next steps in the ongoing collaboration to manage vegetative fuels to reduce wildfire and protect our communities and natural resources.

We are all in this together and it takes all of us!

Stay tuned via our website, social media, and e-newsletter (sign up at the bottom of this page) for final project-related products before this summer.

Mahalo DOFAW, UH CTAHR Cooperative Extension / Pacific Fire Exchange for co-organizing with us.

Hawaii Island (Hilo) Vegetative Fuels Management Collaborative Action Planning Workshop

Thank you to everyone who joined us!

Fire follows fuel. On February 22 at the Hawaii Innovation Center in Hilo, we convened a large group of 20 people on Hawaii Island representing a patchwork of different agencies, groups, and organizations across a variety of fields to come together to plan for collaborative, large-scale vegetation management to reduce wildfire risks throughout the island. This was part of a series of workshops on Oahu, Kauai, and Hawaii Island we held in February on this matter (we had a similar meeting on Maui in 2018).

During the workshop, participants:

• Checked out the results of recent efforts to map current management of hazardous vegetative fuels (thanks to all of the information that partners contributed).

• Identified and discussed shared regional fuels management priorities to mitigate the risks of wildfire across our island landscapes through a facilitated series of small and large group conversations.

Mayor Harry Kim sharing about the importance of fuels management for public safety.

Marking values at risk and areas for fuels treatments.

Chief Eric Moller pointing out values at risk at PTA.

The knowledge and priorities of the participants will contribute to planning next steps in the ongoing collaboration to manage vegetative fuels to reduce wildfire and protect our communities and natural resources.

We are all in this together and it takes all of us!

Stay tuned via our website, social media, and e-newsletter (sign up at the bottom of this page) for final project-related products before this summer.

Mahalo DOFAW, UH CTAHR Cooperative Extension / Pacific Fire Exchange for co-organizing with us.

Special thank you to Mayor Harry Kim, Chief Moller from US Army-Garrison, FES and Chief Okinaka from Hawaii Fire Department for joining us at the workshop.

Hawaiʻi Environmental Education Symposium 2017

Elizabeth Pickett shares lessons learned from the youth stewardship program she runs called Ocean Warriors.

Much of what HWMO does falls under the category of “environmental education.” Talking about wildfire prevention requires making the connection that our built environment is intertwined with the natural world. From June 8 through 10, the Hawaiʻi Environmental Education Alliance hosted a symposium for it’s sixth year to gather environmental educators from across the state. HWMO attended the symposium, which was held at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park Kilauea Military Camp, on June 9. The theme this year was climate change, a topic that has numerous intersections with wildfires in Hawaiʻi. 

The day began with a sobering, yet very informative talk from Dr. Chip Fletcher, a scientist from UH Mānoa’s School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology. His talk gave insight on a multitude of factual examples of how climate change has already taken Hawaiʻi by storm, no pun intended. Of those many examples, increased drought and shifts in vegetative cover were highlighted, conditions that will continue to increase wildfire risk statewide. Throughout the rest of the day, various educators shared examples of how they had used climate change as a framework to teach valuable lessons about the environment. Elizabeth Pickett, HWMO’s Executive Director, is not only a wildfire educator, but she is also youth environmental stewardship educator through the Malama Kai Foundation Ocean Warrior’s program. Elizabeth gave a presentation about the program and shared lessons learned on how to best encourage youth to become environmental leaders in their community.

HWMO’s Community Outreach Coordinator, Pablo Beimler, also gave a presentation on behalf of Hawaii Wildfire. His presentation highlighted various youth products that HWMO has produced for educators including our very own K-8th grade curriculum, kNOw Fire. Several educators from across the state were on hand for the presentation, some of whom enthusiastically expressed that they were willing to integrate the curriculum into their own work. 

Hawaii Island CWPP Update Meetings - Southern Portion of the Island

Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs) are largely built on a foundation of community and local knowledge of a landscape. This steady foundation is what gets the ball rolling for wildfire management projects for agencies and community groups, including yours truly, Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization. By getting a thorough understanding of the needs on the ground level, we are able to make effective change through projects that are highly-relevant and workable amongst the landscape and with the community. 

We set up a series of CWPP update community meetings throughout the southern portion of the Big Island in four major areas: Volcano (October 28), Kau (October 28), Ocean View (October 29), and South Kona (November 5). During these meetings, we collected input from fire agency and land management representatives from Hawaii Fire Department, National Park Service, Kamehameha Schools, and Hawaii Community College (we will be collecting further input from our other agency partners) along with community members who wished to have their voices heard. Attendees broke into small groups to list their wildfire concerns and the recommended actions they'd like to see taken in their area in response.

Comments received included:

Improved access & firefighting capability:
- Open up roadways to allow better firefighter access
- Buy county a brush truck for better access
- Enforce brush clearance laws around structures
- Create firebreaks and access roads
- Improve signage on homes and roads to assist firefighter response
- Agreements with large landowners to allow more diptanks to be installed

Legislation:
- County or state ordinance to address brush management on roads
- Involve county council and decision makers

Education:
- Adult, community, youth and new homeowners education and outreach

Firefighter Training & Equipment
- Increase incident command training
- Funding to secure wildland fire training and equipment

Reduce and Manage Vegetation:
- Need grazing animals to reduce vegetation (fuels)

We also asked attendees to place stickers on their top concerns and actions as a way to prioritize them for each community. Attendees also placed stickers on areas of interest on large maps we printed out displaying the CWPP area and its boundaries. 

We know there's a wealth of knowledge out there in these areas and we are still looking for more of your input! You can reach out to us to provide input (concerns and recommended actions) by calling us at (808) 885-0900 or emailing admin@hawaiiwildfire.org. March 1st is the deadline for providing input. 

For more detailed information on the CWPP updates, check out one of the latest front page articles on the West Hawaii Today:

http://westhawaiitoday.com/news/local-news/input-needed-community-wildfire-protection-plans-0

Banner photo: Community members and HFD firefighters discuss wildfire concerns and recommended action steps during the CWPP Update Meeting at Ocean View Community Center on October 29th.

Kau Coffee Trail Run & Ohana Day

The hot, hot heat wasn't just a Hawaii Wildfire thing this past weekend. Kau's hot weather didn't deter HWMO's Pablo Beimler and Ilene Grossman from setting-up an informational booth at this year's Kau Coffee Trail Run and Ohana Day event at the Kau Coffee Mill in Pahala. Not to mention, the two HWMO members partook in a 10K and 5K race, respectively, before the informational session, where they handed out dozens of Ready, Set, Go! Wildland Fire Action Guides to local residents.

HWMO rolled out a brand new activity at the event: Keiki Wildland Firefighter Photoshoot. Thanks to donations from fire managers from DOFAW and National Park Service, community members were able to play dress-up in wildland firefighter gear and received a Polaroid photo on the spot as a keepsake. We will be continuing this activity at the next event: the Wiliwili Festival down at the Waikoloa Stables on September 27th!

Banner photo: HWMO's first wildland firefighter photoshoot brought together a whole family!

Wildfire Prep Workshop with Kau Coffee Growers Cooperative

HWMO's Ready, Set, Go! Wildfire Preparedness Workshop Tour was just the beginning of a larger outreach effort to get the message out about wildfire preparedness in Hawaii. Pablo Beimler gave the workshop at the Ka'u Coffee Growers Cooperative monthly meeting at the Pahala Community Center and addressed wildfire-related concerns from local coffee growers. Mr. Beimler emphasized the importance as a large landowner of creating access for firefighters, should a wildfire become a threat to a property. The twenty growers in attendance went home with a Ready, Set, Go! Wildland Fire Action Guide to review with their family and colleagues.

Ready, Set, Go! Wildfire Preparedness Workshop - Big Island-Wide Tour

HWMO got a taste of what it's like to be in a band after a 3-week Big Island-wide workshop tour (July 21 - August 4) promoting wildfire preparedness. The Ready, Set, Go! Wildfire Preparedness Workshops were led by HWMO Executive Director Elizabeth Pickett and Education and Outreach Coordinator Pablo Beimler in an effort to rally community members to take action in and around the home far in advance of wildfire season. Those who attended the workshops learned about Hawaii's wildfire issues and how they could mitigate those issues through proper home landscaping techniques and home structure modifications. They also learned about how to develop a clear and achievable family emergency plan, what actions to take during a wildfire, and proper evacuation procedures. Each attendee walked home with a free copy of the new Ready, Set, Go! Hawaii Wildland Fire Action Guide that could be used as a step-by-step tool for carrying out the recommended actions. Contact us if you'd like to receive a guide or better yet, stop by our office to pick one up and meet the HWMO team!

People from a variety of different backgrounds, interests, and ages came out to the workshops which were held in Ocean View, Waikoloa, Volcano, Pahala, Waimea, Kona, and Kealakekua. These workshops, made possible by The Cooperative Fire Program of the U.S. Forest Service, Department of Agriculture, Pacific Southwest Region, were a primer for future workshops and projects to come. HWMO connected with community members who were interested in starting community fuels reduction days that we could provide funding and resources for, helping forward our goal to reduce fire risk in fire-prone areas of Hawaii through a collaborative community effort. We'll keep you posted about these upcoming community events and please notify us if you are interested in starting one - we can help you make it happen!

As we said, this is only the beginning of our outreach ramp-up. We plan to continue putting on these workshops throughout Hawaii Island (Puna and North Kohala, you're next!), West Maui, and Oahu. Stay tuned for upcoming announcements. 

Special thanks to Chief Darryl Oliveira, Chief Eric Moller, Chief Darren Rosario, and all of the HFD firefighters, CERT members, HWMO Board Members, and community members who came out to the workshops. Additional thanks to our media support: Carolyn Lucas-Zenk (West Hawaii Today), Lisa Dahm (North Hawaii News) and Sherry Bracken (LAVA105.3, KKOA107.7, HPR). Mahalo to all of our venue hosts from Ocean View Community Center, Waikoloa Community Association, Volcano Cooper Center, Pahala Elementary School, Thelma Parker Memorial Library, Kona Mayor's Office, and Konawaena Elementary School.

Banner photo: Good turnout from community members and firefighters at Waikoloa Community Room on July 23, 2014.