Firewise Update Presentation with Kailapa Community Association Annual Meeting

Several updates were given at the meeting, including from HWMO.

On January 13, HWMO’s Pablo Beimler joined Kailapa Community Association for their annual meeting, which drew dozens of community members from the Hawaiian homestead community in Kawaihae. Pablo shared updates on the upcoming wildfire season, ReadySetGo! and Wildfire LOOKOUT! tips, and Firewise Communities information. Kailapa has been a nationally-recognized Firewise Community since 2016 and they continue to do a stellar job of taking action within the community to protect their area from wildfire. Mahalo Kailapa!

Kanehoa Firewise Networking Gathering

Puukapu Pastoral Firewise members share background on their community’s wildfire issues with the group.

Kanehoa, the 2nd community to become a Firewise Community in Hawaii, has been a standout community for their Firewise leadership. Continuing to demonstrate that leadership quality, they hosted an inter-Firewise Community exchange on October 20, inviting all other Firewise Communities to join them for a networking gathering. HWMO joined the fun and learning, sharing the latest tips on wildfire preparedness and updates on the organization in general. Members from Puukapu Pastoral Firewise and Kohala Waterfront also joined in. Big mahalo to the Kanehoa Firewise Committee for inviting us and their work over the years!

3 Firewise Communities represented proudly at the gathering.

Waikoloa Firewise Community Forum

The August wildfire that burned 18,000 acres (2nd largest in recent Hawaii history) near Waikoloa was a close call for community members. Communications from agencies to residents were a challenge and a hot topic (pun intended) at the Waikoloa Firewise Community Forum on September 27. More than 50 residents and a number of speakers representing various agencies and legislative offices were present to recap the pluses and minuses of the response to the massive wildfire. Thank you to Waikoloa Fire Management Action Committee for inviting HWMO and putting together this successful event!

Waikii Ranch 2nd Annual Firewise BBQ

Education is fun — and definitely when food is involved! For the 2nd straight year, Waikii Ranch held a Firewise BBQ for its members as part of their Firewise Communities efforts. HWMO was invited as one of several wildfire speakers, sharing information on wildfire preparedness (Firewise, ReadySetGo!, etc.) and the latest updates about HWMO.

Waikii Ranch has been a Firewise Community since 2017 and are working towards a 2nd year as a nationally-recognized site. We know they can do it!

Puukapu Pastoral Firewise Assessment Review Meeting

The review team — mahalo everyone!

Wildfire protection takes collaboration. We had a very fruitful meeting with Puukapu Pastoral residents, Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, Hawaii Fire Department, and Natural Resources Conservation Service representatives. Together, we brainstormed actions Puukapu lessees, with assistance from their partners, could take to create a safer Firewise and tighter-knit community. HWMO works as a hub to connect people because collaboration truly is the most effective way to see immediate and long-lasting results. Big mahalo to all who participated and for the residents taking charge to be pioneers in their community and showing real leadership and determination to protect the families and beautiful lands of Puukapu.

South Kohala CDP Action Committee Meeting Presentation

On June 4, HWMO presented at a community meeting about the latest wildfire updates, including on Firewise Communities and the Wildfire LOOKOUT! campaign. The meeting was a regularly held public meeting for the South Kohala Community Development Plan, or CDP for short.

WCDRT Climate Adaptation Meeting and Firewise Recruitment

Sea level rise app demo from a speaker representing NOAA.

We joined a climate adaptation meeting with the very proactive Waianae Coast Disaster Readiness Team on February 21. The WCDRT had recently formed a subcommittee to focus on Firewise Community work in Waianae and invited us to chat with them to discuss potential candidates for the program. The group settled on Sea Country in Maili, which would make the community the first Firewise Community in the western half of Oahu. We stayed for the rest of the meeting to hear from presenters regarding sea level rise adaptation and general climate adaptation strategies. Josh Stanbro from the County of Honolulu Office of Climate Change took a survey of the large meeting group to assess what climate challenges were on people's minds.

Kamilonui-Mariner's Cove Firewise Hazard Assessment Review Workshop

Dr. Clay Trauernicht of UH CTAHR Cooperative Extension and Pacific Fire Exchange encourages the community members in the room to continue to take proactive action in the neighborhood to prevent wildfire loss.

On February 13, over a dozen community members from Kamilonui Valley and Mariner's Cove in Hawaii Kai joined our workshop with Honolulu Fire Department, DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife, and University of Hawaii CTAHR Cooperative Extension. The community members heard from the various agency representatives about the importance of taking action early to prevent fire loss in the community. HWMO has teamed up with the community to support them in becoming the first Firewise Community in the eastern half of Oahu.

As a requirement of becoming a nationally-recognized Firewise Community, our team met with several of the community members a few months ago to conduct a community-wide wildfire hazard assessment. After synthesizing the information in a comprehensive report, we designed a workshop to inform the community members about their wildfire risk. At the end of the workshop, the community members listed the priority actions they wanted to see taken in the community to protect it from wildfire. Those actions will be used to formulate an action plan, another requirement for becoming a Firewise Community. From then on, it is action time! The community plans to take preventive action this summer as part of Wildfire Prep Day with a volunteer event to reduce hazardous vegetation along the edges of the community.

 

Nanawale Estates ReadySetGo! Workshop and Firewise Intro

The Nanawale Estates community members who came to the workshop are willing and ready to help the community become a Firewise site.

We started the week by working on recruiting a potential new Firewise Community in Puna on the Big Island (which would be the first on the east side). Proactive Nanawale residents and HOA staff joined us for a wildfire preparedness workshop on February 5 at the Nanawale Longhouse. We guided the workshop attendees through the Ready, Set, Go! program and encouraged them to pursue looking into becoming a nationally-recognized Firewise Community. Following the presentation, we walked over to a nearby home to practice assessing a home ignition zone for wildfire hazards (the best way to learn is out in the field!)

During the workshop, we held an input session to hear about the wildfire-related concerns of community members. Some key concerns included albizia control, lack of ingress/egress, and lack of continuous support from legislators. We then discussed possible solutions that could help address these issues. Nanawale is no stranger to environmental hazards. In 2014, the Pahoa lava flow threatened the community and the recent Hurricane Iselle proved very damaging to the community, which was largely out of power for several weeks. The community may not have gotten the federal aid and even local government support they had hoped for, but they took matters in their own hands anyways by supporting each other. This is a key function of a Firewise Community that is fire-adapted to its surroundings: building community resilience for the long-run is most impactful and effective when the whole community comes together.  

Kamilonui-Mariner’s Cove Firewise Hazard Assessment

The Firewise Communities movement is spreading to Oahu! Over the last two years, HWMO has assisted 10 communities in becoming nationally-recognized Firewise Communities. There are now 11 official communities in Hawaii, part of a network of over 1,400 across the U.S. Those 11 communities are located on Hawaii Island and Maui. That is soon to change as proactive residents and community organizations from Kamilonui-Mariner’s Cove are taking the necessary steps towards making their beloved community in Hawaii Kai a Firewise Community. 

Private landowners, contractors, farmers, legislators, community groups, government agencies...we are truly seeing a Firewise Community in the making where all stakeholders play an important role. 

This year has been a particularly stressful one for Kamilonui Valley Farm Lots and Mariner’s Cove residents. Over a dozen suspicious fire starts, a few that grew into larger fires, had burned close to the community in the first half of 2017. Since then, the community has been charged to take action. HWMO linked with Livable Hawaii Kai Hui and Senator Stanley Chang’s Office to organize a community-wide Firewise hazard assessment on November 27. Together with representatives from DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW), Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board, Royal Contracting, and Kamilonui Farm Lots, the working group walked and drove around the community to examine common wildfire hazards and areas for potential wildfire risk reduction projects. 

The assessment team first convened at the Mariner’s Cove Bay Club to map out an itinerary for the day, determine priority community areas to examine on the field assessment, and establish boundaries for the Firewise Community designation. Following the meeting, the team walked along an access road off of Hawaii Kai Drive, visited Pahua Heiau, and caravanned to the end of Kamilonui Place to examine the wildland area in the back of the valley. Along with these priority areas, the team also visited a home to conduct a “Home Ignition Zone” assessment to gain a better idea of the wildfire hazards at the individual lot level and pull locally-relevant examples of best practices for creating defensible space and fire-proofing structures.

The assessment team examining fuels, or flammable vegetation, along the wildland border of Kamilonui-Mariner's Cove.

Hearing from a resident about her wildfire hazard concerns.

Once HWMO completes a written report of the hazard assessment, they will present their findings to the working group and the larger community in February 2018. The working group will take recommendations provided in the report into consideration when they develop an action plan for wildfire risk reduction activities in their community.

We thank all of the partners who joined us for the hazard assessment and are excited for what’s to come in 2018 for Kamilonui-Mariner’s Cove!