Kealakehe School Student Leadership Day

Teach for America organized a Student Leadership Day for Kealakehe School and neighboring school students, inviting various workshop and booth presenters from around the island to Kealakehe on April 25th. HWMO was invited to set-up an outreach booth for the event. We reached out to a few dozen kids of all ages, some of whom dressed up in wildland firefighter gear and took photos with our new wildfire mascot: Kaleo the Pueo. 

Mahalo to Teach for America for organizing and inviting us to the event!

HWMO Denny's Fundraiser and Outreach Night

For over a decade, HWMO has been tasked with the mission of protecting Hawaii's communities and natural resources from the growing threat of wildfire and its impacts throughout the state. We've made immense strides over the past few years towards reaching our goals even as a small non-profit organization with no more than 5 staff members at any given time. We've been fortunate enough to secure grant funds for our projects, however, our operations and outreach capabilities rely on your continual support. 

To help keep our engine running, we held a fundraiser and outreach event at Denny's Restaurant in Kona on Sunday, April 19th. We teamed with Rotary Club of Kona and Denny's to host Project Compassion, a program that holds monthly events that raise awareness for many Hawaii-based non-profits and thousands of dollars to support their programs.

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Future Wildland Firefighters blend right in with the HFD engine.

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Goat Dozer Petting Zoo helped us connect kids to the idea that goats can reduce wildfire hazards around communities.

Our event attracted local residents and visitors who were drawn-in by Hawaii Fire Department fire engine tours and a Goat Dozer Petting Zoo outside of the restaurant. Throughout the evening, people filtered through the doorways of Denny's to dine. Each person who dined contributed to our fundraiser. We collected 20% of the dinner profits and 100% of the tips that night, all going towards our wildfire safety efforts. The catch? We had to earn our money. HWMO staff and Board members donned aprons and put on a smile to help host and serve customers, talking wildfire prevention whenever possible. Customers were also treated to hours of live music entertainment put on by a local HFD firefighter and our very own, Tom Loomis (harmonica virtuoso.)

Before customers entered or left the restaurant, they had the opportunity to stop by our informational booth where we passed out Ready, Set, Go! programs and gave out Kaleo the Pueo hats and T-shirts to generous donors. We even held a silent auction that featured some great items: Red Water Café dinner certificate for two, KTA certificates, Leche de Tigre merchandise and concert tickets, Snorkel Bob's merchandise, and beautiful coral reef artwork from Waikoloa native Rick Turnbow. 

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Our staff, Board, and volunteers (some of whom are pictured above) would like to say mahalo to all who helped contribute to our efforts!

In total, we made $2,500 in donations thanks to generous customers, silent auction bidders, and our incredible sponsors: Adventure X Boat Tours, Laughing Stock Farms, Red Water Café, and Snorkel Bob's. Thanks also to our silent auction contributors: Red Water Café, KTA, Snorkel Bob's, Leche De Tigre, and Rick Turnbow.

 A big mahalo also goes out to Hawaii Fire Department, Big Island Goat Dozers, Rotary Club of Kona, Project Compassion's Holly DeGeal, Denny's Restaurant and our hard-working staff and Board members who helped make the night a success!

If you missed out on the event, but would still like to contribute, please visit:
http://www.hawaiiwildfire.org/donate/

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Hawaii Community College Career & Job Fair 2015

Pablo Beimler showcases Hawaii's new wildfire prevention mascot: Kaleo the Pueo.

This last few days, Hawaii Wildfire has focused its outreach efforts heavily on our youth. We set-up a booth at this year's Hawaii Community College Career & Job Fair on April 6th, captivating a number of college-aged attendees who took interest in all that Hawaii Wildfire does (and the new Kaleo the Pueo stickers we gave out.) We had the pleasure of conducting our outreach next to our partners from the HCC Fire Science Program (http://hawaii.hawaii.edu/firescience/) and Hawaii Fire Department. 

Wildland-Urban Interface Conference 2015

This year's conference spanned three days at the Peppermill Resort in Reno, Nevada. The venue played host to a wide-range of people involved in the wildfire community: fire chiefs, outreach coordinators, agency directors, community action group organizers, you name it! 

After an unfortunate plane cancellation and rescheduling, Pablo Beimler was still able to fly from Hawaii Island to Reno to represent Hawaii Wildfire at the conference. Mr. Beimler shared an exhibition booth with the Great Plains Fire Science Exchange (http://gpfirescience.missouristate.edu/) to showcase HWMO's work and our new wildfire prevention mascot: Kaleo the Pueo. 

On the second day of the conference, a very special ceremony was held to commemorate this year's Wildfire Mitigation Award winners. The awards were chosen and presented by the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA), the National Association of State Foresters (NASF), the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and the USDA Forest Service (USFS). 

Lo and behold, Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization was one of the recipients for the Wildfire Mitigation Innovation Award! Mr. Beimler joined the stage to accept the award on behalf of HWMO, an exciting moment for our whole organization. We couldn't of done it without the great support of our incredible staff, Board members, Technical Advisory Committee, community members and partners!

To round off the conference, Andrew Phelps of the Oregon Office of Emergency Management, gave a unique presentation about how the key principles of improv acting can apply to emergency management. He even called upon some volunteers to help act it out! 

For a more in-depth read about the conference, check out this article: http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060016025

Banner photo: The Wildfire Mitigation Awards, one of which was awarded to Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization

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Above: Pablo Beimler accepts the Wildfire Mitigation Innovation Award on behalf of Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization.

9th Nahelehele Dry Forest Symposium 2015

In the spirit of tradition, Hawaii Wildfire set-up a poster presentation for this year's Nahelehele Dry Forest Symposium at the King Kamehameha Hotel in Kailua-Kona on February 27th. 

Many great speakers gave presentations at this year's symposium. We certainly noticed a common theme throughout the presentations: wildfire. Nearly every presentation mentioned wildfire as a severe threat to dry forest preserves. To highlight the wildfire issue, our partner and Wildfire Extension Specialist, Clay Trauernicht from University of Hawaii, College of Tropical and Human Resources, gave an animated and exciting presentation to the crowd of nearly 150 people ranging from researchers to land manager to interested community members. 

This year, our poster board, designed by Pablo Beimler and written by Mr. Beimler, Elizabeth Pickett, and Ilene Grossman, emphasized the importance of collecting agency and community input before moving forward on wildfire mitigation projects. Here's an abstract from the poster board:

"Addressing the wildfire issues that persist on the Hawaiian Islands requires collaboration and communication among diverse parties due to the cross-field, cross-jurisdictional nature of wildfires. For years, Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization has been a model for thoroughly engaging its partners and community members in each step of the collaboration process. One of the key reasons HWMO’s projects have been relevant and successful is that the organization only moves forward on projects that are directly driven by stakeholder’s needs. HWMO makes every effort to collect input from land managers, planners, County/State/Federal agencies, local communities, and any other parties affected by wildfire in order to truly understand what is needed on-the-ground. Our display visually highlights the plethora of input we have gathered from the past couple of years, primarily through the Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) process."
 

Banner photo: Hawaii Wildfire's poster board showcasing word clouds of community input.

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Waikoloa Plant Sale - 2014

What keeps us motivated at Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization? Knowing that we are connecting with the next wave of change-makers is certainly a major motivation. 

On November 8th, we nestled within a collage of various plant vendors at the Waikoloa Plant Sale to distribute Ready, Set, Go! Guides and talk wildfire safety with residents of all ages. The highlight for us was getting to dress-up groups of keiki in wildland firefighter gear and taking Polaroid photos of them that they could then take home and hold onto as a keepsake. The laughter from the kids was contagious - knowing that they would go home with a smile on their face and a few lessons on wildfire safety in mind made the day all worthwhile.

Banner photo: A group of excited, future change-makers put on real wildland firefighter gear.

Wiliwili Festival - 2014

This year's Wiliwili Festival demonstrated just how much stronger the coalition for saving Hawaii's dryland forests is becoming. Vendors from a variety of different agencies and community groups gathered at the Waikoloa Stables to share information and to support the Waikoloa Dry Forest Initiative's efforts to promote native plant species and the protection of their habitats. HWMO joined the event as one of the vendors, promoting native species as a way to protect homes from wildfire, among other wildfire preparedness and safety tips. Droves of keiki swung by the booth to join us for Keiki Wildland Firefighter Photoshoots. Kids got to dress up as firefighters and were able to take home Polaroid photos of themselves in the gear.

Towards the end of the day, HWMO held a brief Wildfire Preparedness Workshop to delve into the contents of the Ready, Set, Go! Wildland Fire Action Guide. 

A full day with plenty of visitors made this year's Wiliwili Festival an excellent outreach opportunity. Mahalo to our partners from Waikoloa Dry Forest Initiative for inviting us and putting on the event.

Banner photo: Excited to be a future firefighter!

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!

Puna Regional Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Fair - 2014

Wildfires in Puna? It's a reality and the issue has been amplified since Hurricane Iselle hit. Given the countless fallen trees and debris that will certainly dry out come dry season (and likely El Niño drought) the fire risk in Puna has skyrocketed. Not to mention, an encroaching lava flow is steadily increasing the wildfire ignition risk. 

Now more than ever is the best time to prepare for wildfires in Puna. That's why HWMO took part in this year's PREP event at Keaau High School, which drew thousands of visitors, all with an interest in emergency planning and preparedness. HWMO's Pablo Beimler and Ilene Grossman passed out dozens of Ready, Set, Go! Wildland Fire Action Guides, which will come in handy for families interested in minimizing wildfire risk around the home. 

Banner photo: Keiki galore stopped by the HWMO booth for Smokey Gear and Ready, Set, Go! Guides. 

July 4th Parker Ranch Rodeo and Horse Races 2014

HWMO teamed up this past weekend with its long-time partner Parker Ranch to run the July 4th Rodeo and Horse Races Food Drive at the Parker Ranch Arena in Waimea. Visitors hauled in 4 large boxes full of canned goods for Kokua Christian Ministries, a non-profit that distributes food to those in need within the Waimea, Waikoloa, and Kohala area. In addition to the food drive, HWMO's Pablo Beimler, Tyler McCullough, Elizabeth Pickett, and Tom Loomis distributed Ready, Set, Go! Hawaii Guides and the newly created HWMO Fireworks Safety Brochures (http://www.scribd.com/doc/231506894/Fireworks-Safety-Brochure-Hawaii-County) to numerous families along with the all-too-addicting Smokey the Bear frisbees, among other goods.

Community members also stopped by to jot down on colorful paper cards what they cared about most in Hawaii and why, as part of an art project HWMO is currently assembling (more details to come.) The cards also doubled as lottery tickets, offering visitors the chance to win either a free HWMO T-shirt or a free defensible space home assessment conducted by HWMO's knowledgable staff members. The exciting rodeo event was a great success even with the rain and wind that created logistical obstacles for HWMO, which the staff was craftily able to overcome. 

Banner photo: Keiki recite what they know about wildfire in Hawaii with Elizabeth Pickett, Executive Director of HWMO.