Field Tours/Site Visits

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Waialea Firewise Community Hazard Assessment

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Over a decade ago, the residents of Waialea and HWMO began discussing the establishment of a living (or shaded) fuelbreak along the mauka edge of the community to increase fire protection for the homes in the subdivision. Since then, HWMO has worked on a number of projects with Waialea to ensure wildfires, which are common in the area, keep clear of their homes. In the past, wildfires have even burned down homes and structures in Waialea, something we hope will never happen again if the right measures are taken.

HWMO VP Sam Patten points out charred fire post from a previous wildfire that burned right up to homes in Waialea.

Waialea residents and homeowners walk along a fire access road that splits the living fuelbreak.

To keep Waialea residents safe, HWMO is working with Waialea to help them become one of the next Firewise communities, a recognition that Kanehoa subdivision recently received. As a major step towards Firewise certification, HWMO’s Pablo Beimler and Sam Patten joined a group of residents (and a contractor who will be tasked with thinning the living fuelbreak with HWMO’s funding) to walk around the neighborhood and assess the community’s wildfire risk. 

The group began the tour by taking a look at the current state of the living fuelbreak. Within the break, there are a number of native and drought-tolerant plants that were established years ago but the area is currently in need of some thinning. HWMO will be providing a $5000 grant to Waialea to remove the flammable vegetation within the break and thin the trees to reduce ladder fuels. 

Keeping tree branches away from the home along the fire-free zone can make a significant difference protecting it from wildfire.

We also visited a couple of homes to get a better sense for what the average home looks like in relation to the landscape. Owners of the homes took a number of precautions to make sure there was enough defensible space, including creating a fire-free zone 5 feet around the home, and that structures were fire-proofed, including using non-combustible roofing and enclosing eaves.

HWMO will be working on completing the assessment over the next few weeks, which will become a useful tool for Waialea to help them determine the next steps for becoming wildfire ready.

Waikoloa Dry Forest TAC Field Tour

"Wildfires are the number one threat that we face," said Jen Lawson, Director of the Waikoloa Dry Forest Initiative, at the April 26th Field Tour of the Waikoloa Dry Forest for HWMO's Technical Advisory Committee members. 

HWMO representatives discuss options for fountain grass removal with Jen Lawson (left).

Wiliwili tree blossoms.

Over the years, HWMO has linked with Waikoloa Dry Forest to help preserve their incredible dry forest restoration project on the Kona side of Waikoloa Village. They protect "nearly half of the remaining kupuna (ancestral) wiliwili of the Waikoloa region", a number of critically endangered uhiuhi, among other endemic plant species. 

A dozen or so of HWMO's Technical Advisory Committee members joined HWMO staff and board members and Mrs. Lawson to tour the beautiful preserve. TAC members, including Chief Gantry Andrade of Hawaii Fire Department, Andy Kikuta of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Ross Williams of National Park Service offered their expertise regarding fire protection. 

The field tour was a great way to connect our partners in a meaningful way that will hopefully prove useful for the Waikoloa Dry Forest. We plan on having these field tours each year with different sites chosen for each one. Mahalo to everyone for joining us and sharing your expertise and mahalo to Jen for being an amazing host!

Waikoloa Dry Forest TAC Field Tour
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CNH Wildland Fire Conference & PFX Field Tour to Kokee

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Every two to three years, Hawaii plays host to the California-Nevada-Hawaii Wildland Fire Conference. This year, the Garden Island of Kauai was the host of the conference that attracted fire experts from across the Hawaiian Islands and from California and Nevada. The three-day conference from April 12-15 at the Poipu Sheraton was a great way to share lessons learned from across the Pacific. 

Elizabeth Pickett, HWMO, shares information on Community Wildfire Protection Plan update for Kauai.

On the first day, Mayor Carvalho kicked off the proceedings with a rousing rendition of the U.S. National Anthem and Hawaii Ponoi. A number of speakers followed, touching on topics ranging from drought predictions (Derek Wroe, NWS) to local knowledge for effective fire management (Clay Trauernicht, University of Hawaii CTAHR) to native ecosystem restoration at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (Rhonda Loh, NPS). Our very own Elizabeth Pickett gave a talk on HWMO's recent statewide CWPP and public education efforts. 

Representatives from the Wildland Fallen Firefighters Foundation gave a very moving talk to share about their amazing work to support firefighters and their families who are either recovering from injury or loss of life. 

The second day of the Conference was a field tour organized by Pacific Fire Exchange's Clay Trauernicht and the newest member of the HWMO/PFX team, Melissa Kunz. Patrick Porter, District Forestry Manager for Kauai Division of Forestry and Wildlife, helped lead the caravan up to Kokee, otherwise known as Waimea Canyon.

Elizabeth Pickett shares copies of community input from CWPP meetings.

Field tour attendees soak in the beauty of Waimea Canyon.

A group of a couple dozen conference attendees stopped at various view points and the site of the large 1,000+ acre fire that scorched a eucalyptus forest a few years ago. DOFAW is taking advantage of this post-fire moment to plant rows upon rows of koa trees for sustainable harvest moving into the future. This unique project will give forest managers an idea of the feasibility of post-fire conversion of previously non-native forest into a native forest for the purpose of sustainable harvest. 

Kauai Division of Forestry and Wildlife plan to have slash piles hauled out for biomass.

New koa plantings will replace a formerly non-native forest, taking advantage of a large, destructive wildfire that wiped out acres of eucalyptus.

On the final day of the conference, Dan Dennison of DLNR spoke about the media's role in Fire Incident Management and touted the Wildfire & Drought Look Out! campaign set to be released by HWMO and its many statewide partners this month. Each County Fire Department also gave updates. The general message from each one: the number of wildfires this year in Hawaii are set to surpass last year's numbers by a significant margin. 

We want to thank our partners from DOFAW and the CNH Forest Fire Council for letting us share our recent efforts and to thank Pacific Fire Exchange for a great, informative field tour!

Stay tuned for a video of the field tour on our YouTube page!

CNH Wildland Fire Conference 2016 and PFX Field Tour to Kokee
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Launiupoko Firewise Community Hazard Assessment

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Launiupoko on the west side of Maui has suffered through a number of close calls with wildfires over the past few years. Even this year alone, there have been a handful of fires that have started near or within the community. 

Chris Brosius (second from left) from West Maui Mountains Watershed Partnership explains the importance of defensible space to the Launiupoko Firewise Committee.

Chris Brosius (right) examines native landscaping around home.

As part of our current goal of creating at least ten nine Firewise Communities (Kanehoa was our first official one!) within the next year, HWMO's Pablo Beimler and West Maui Mountains Watershed Partnership's Chris Brosius met with Launiupoko residents on February 17th to conduct a Firewise Hazard Assessment. 

Launiupoko 

The site of the most recent wildfire prior to the assessment that burned within the community.

The team of new Firewise Committee members from Launiupoko gave background on the fire issues they had witnessed over the years. Much of the discussions revolved around the vegetative make-up of the area and water issues. Mr. Brosius helped connect the importance of creating a dynamic landscape that served the purpose of mitigating wildfire hazards while also restoring the watershed - these goals must work hand-in-hand to create a resilient landscape and community. 

We were able to tour some of the committee members' properties to assess wildfire hazards and mitigation successes at the home level. We also toured areas of wildland in and around the community to get a sense for the larger landscape and its relationship with the community. 

As a next step, HWMO will complete an official write-up of the assessment and deliver it to the committee members who will then devise an action plan. 

Mahalo to Launiupoko Firewise Committee members who were excellent hosts and are the spark plugs for larger community efforts to come!

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HCC Palamanui Wildfire Preparedness Field Tour

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Frank Sayre (HWMO Board Director - left) listens in as Mark Thorne (HWMO President-right) speaks to Calley ONeill (HCC Palamanui Landscape Designer)

Hawaii Community College's new campus in Kona, known as the Palamanui campus, will be a hub for academics on the west side of Hawaii Island. The state of the art facilities are a step into the future for Hawaii, but coming from a wildfire perspective, we want to ensure those facilities are guarded from the imminent threat of wildfire in the area. In late January, a wildfire burned near the south side of campus and threatened a number of homes there. 

 

HWMO President and UH CTAHR Cooperative Extension Specialist, Mark Thorne (right), gives a lesson on fountain grass.

On February 12th, HWMO Board and Staff met with HCC Palamanui officials on a wildfire preparedness field tour. HWMO's Pablo Beimler (Community Outreach Coordinator), Mark Thorne (Board President), Sam Patten (Board VP), and Frank Sayre (Board of Director) were shown around the campus by HCC Palamanui's Calley O'Neill (Landscape Planner), Marty Fletcher (Director), and Jeff Newsome (Chief of Safety and Security). 

HWMO representatives noted that the greatest threat to the campus facilities was the large swath of fountain grass that surrounded all sides of the campus. Of most concern was the seemingly endless field of fountain grass, mixed with ekoa, on the south end. We recommended a multi-mitigation, low-cost fuelbreak that would prevent fire, dust, and seed threats. 

In general, the campus is working to strive towards a landscape that fits accordingly to cultural and ecological contexts. Not only will the campus have a beautiful agricultural and restorative landscape, but it will also complement Firewise goals. We are excited to be in close partnership with the new campus and we cannot wait to see how they will transform the landscape into a sustainable, reduced fire-threat zone.

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Waialea Fuelbreak Tours and Firewise Community Hazard Assessment (Part 1)

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HWMO's Mike Tomich removes aloe stalk in living fuelbreak as example of fuels reduction measures that can be taken.

Around 2005, the residents of Waialea and HWMO began discussing the establishment of a living (or shaded) fuelbreak along the mauka edge of the community to increase fire protection for homes in the subdivision. 

HWMO had a few goals for the project:

1) Fuels conversion and reduction of grass maintenance within the fuelbreak.
2) Utilizing lessons learned in establishing the fuelbreak to aid similar efforts.
3) Assist the Waialea community in additional, adjacent fuels reduction along the fuelbreak and the extended community wildland interface.

Over the years, HWMO has been able to check off each of its goals, helping protect Waialea from the ever-looming threat of wildfires in the highly-trafficked area.

HWMO's VP Sam Patten is giddy to find a community fire hose.

To help move Waialea enter the next phase of wildfire protection, HWMO will be assisting the community through the Firewise Communities process. On January 12th, a group of community members met with HWMO's Community Outreach Coordinator Pablo Beimler, President Mike Tomich, and Vice President Sam Patten. The crew toured the living fuelbreak and adjacent State Parks lands to conduct the first part of a Firewise Community Hazard Assessment and to discuss proposals of project ideas they would introduce to the State Parks Superintendent, Dean Takabayashi, who they would meet that Friday. 

On January 15th, more than a dozen community members joined HWMO and State Parks reps to tour the northern end of the community. The discussions ranged from the health of the reef to the fuel buildup in the gulches to the incredible fuels reduction work already being done by the State at the Beach 69 facilities. 

Group of community members, HWMO reps, and State Parks officials tour the area to examine potential project opportunities.

HWMO was pleased to see the great collaborative energy amongst community members and agency officials - this will open up the pathway to work on fuels reduction projects conjunctively on State Park lands that abut the community.  

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Mauna Kea Watershed Alliance Huakai

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Koa forests on Mauna Kea make for a mist-erious drive.

Part of what makes a partnership strong is sharing knowledge, especially in person and among place. HWMO had the great opportunity to meet with its partners from Mauna Kea Watershed Alliance (MKWA) for a huakai of one of their preservation areas on the eastern flanks of Mauna Kea. After a bumpy, Indiana Jones-esque ride to the site, Pablo Beimler, representing HWMO toured the site with Jermy Uowolo and Joe Kern of MKWA to discuss the fuels management issues in and around the area and to brainstorm ideas for reducing fuel and creating better suppression access. More importantly, Pablo was able to take in-depth notes with photos that he added to a report that he will share with members of HWMO's Technical Advisory Committee (TAC). The TAC members hold a diverse wealth of knowledge about the area's fire issues and fuels management techniques that would work in the area. 

A pueo keeps a watchful eye on us as we enter the preserve.

The site acts as a bird corridor for some of Hawaii's most precious birds, such as palila and pueo (HWMO's mascot). A few years ago, a wildfire burned through parts of the preserve, including koa and mamane tree plots, so wildfire is a high priority for the MKWA team. MKWA crew are continuing to work to preserve the precious native forests that still exist there and are reinvigorating existing forests and creating new ones by out-planting more trees like koa, mamane, and iliahi. Pablo had the exciting opportunity, at the end of the tour, of putting in some volunteer hours by helping fertilize new koa starts that will act as a barrier from the invasion of gorse. The vigorous shrub has taken over large tracts of land on the mauna and are continuing their march to new areas.Their seeds can stay viable in the ground for 50+ years and when a fire comes around, they re-sprout with ease (their seed pods open after fires and their burnt stumps can generate new sprouts). This is certainly one of the hazards we will discuss with our team of experts.

Endless field of gorse (darker green vegetation).

An area that was burned in the latest wildfire can be seen in the furthest puu where a group of mamane trees were scorched.

Big mahalo to the MKWA crew, including Jermy, Joe, and Cheyenne Perry (who wasn't able to attend but is also an integral member of the HWMO team). We are very fortunate to have such great partners all across the board - it's the only way we can truly take on a challenge as vast and complicated as wildfire. 

A beautiful new koa that we fertilized at the end of the tour. 


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Kanehoa Firewise Community Hazard Assessment

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Kanehoa is nestled amongst a sea of flammable grasses, but has one of the most incredible views of Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, Hualalai, and Kohala Mountain.

Kanehoa subdivision in Waimea (Kamuela) is off and running towards the Firewise Community Certification, which at this rate would make them the 2nd Firewise Community in the State of Hawaii (after Kohala-By-the-Sea). Becoming a Firewise Community is a multi-step process and relies on the grassroots efforts of the local community members. We're assisting Kanehoa, along with 9 other communities across the State, to help them achieve Firewise Certification (including $5,000 in match to kick-off a Fuels Reduction Day for each community). 

Although difficult to see in this photo, smoke from a live wildfire near West Hawaii Concrete was hovering below Mauna Kea during the assessment, a clear reminder of the importance of getting prepared sooner rather than later.

On July 18th, HWMO's Pablo Beimler and Troy Scott and HFD Fire Inspector Palani Kurashige joined a couple Kanehoa Firewise Committee members to conduct a community-wide wildfire hazard assessment to update a 10-year-old assessment with new information about the community's wildfire situation. The team drove around the neighborhood stopping at various houses to meet with homeowners about their wildfire concerns and to get a general sense for the wildfire risk around their homes and the neighborhood.

Kanehoa has had its fair share of close-calls with wildfires that have ignited along Kawaihae Rd. (a large number of ignitions in the past decade have occurred along that highway). One such fire in November of 2010 burned with swirling winds and came close to destroying a number of homes and burned down a tractor shed. The wildfire even skipped over the stream on the South side of the village, which was running more like a river that day!

HFD Fire Inspector Palani Kurashige joined us and noted the hazardous scrapwood below a home.

Native plants like this ʻilima are trying to make a resurgence in the neighborhood but are having trouble competing with all of the invasive fountain grasses. A successful community work day will change that!

After the assessment update is completed by HWMO, we will present the findings to the Kanehoa Firewise Committee. The Committee will then develop an action plan based on the assessment and decide on a Fuels Reduction Day event. After holding the event, the Firewise Community will be eligible to submit an application to the DOFAW and national Firewise offices for approval. By then, we'll have the next Firewise Community in the State!


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Kauai Annual Brush Fire Mitigation Meeting & Anahola Hawaiian Homes Site Visits

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Annual Brush Fire Mitigation Meeting

Since December of 2014, Kauai has had its most brush fires in the shortest span of time" in recent history, according to Captain Daryl Date, head of the Kauai Fire Department (KFD) Fire Prevention Bureau. 

Captain Daryl Date and Chief Robert Westerman show "heat map" of wildfire ignitions in Kauai since December 2014.

The numbers don't lie: 104 wildfires this year up to June 9th, the date of the Annual Brush Fire Mitigation Meeting hosted by KFD, marks a milestone that has raised concerns for residents and agencies from all over Kauai. At least 60 or so are considered "suspicious", an alarming rate that has led Kauai Police to sound the alarms for reporting any suspicious behavior.

Derek Wroe of NOAA National Weather Service explains El Niño's potential to delay the next wet season.

To help Kauai prepare for growing wildfire threats, KFD invited Kauai's largest landowners to a meeting at the Headquarters in Lihue. Captain Date began the meeting with these stark numbers and an up-to-date "heat map" showing the areas that have had the most ignitions thus far since December 2014. 

NOAA National Weather Service representative Derek Wroe followed with an insightful look at the fire weather trends. "Lihue had the driest west season in the past 30 years", just one of the many indicators pointing towards a more active fire season. In fact, leeward Kauai is now considered "abnormally dry" (40-50% below normal rainfall during the 2014-15 wet season.) "El Niño has an 80% chance of persisting into the wet season," Wroe explained, "which will delay the onset of the wet season" and thus an early start to next year's fire "season." 

With these warnings in mind, HWMO's Pablo Beimler took the meeting participants through a Wildfire Preparedness for Large Landowners/Managers presentation. Mr. Beimler illustrated the basics of fire behavior and applied them to how those factors could be minimized through strategic management practices, including fuelbreak creation and forest thinning. 

After the presentation, HWMO reps Mr. Beimler and Vice President Sam Patten distributed Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) input forms to all of the landowners/managers, with the hopes to receive their valuable input by mid-July for the Kauai update. Following the meeting, meeting participants also placed stickers of their areas of concern on a large Kauai map that will go into the plan.

Adding input to our CWPP map for Kauai.

The last segment of the meeting involved a productive discussion amongst the landowners/managers and KFD officials. Each landowner/manager shared their wildfire concerns and mentioned any resources they had that could be made available to KFD for wildfire suppression purposes.

 

 

Anahola Fuels Reduction

One of the striking themes from the Mitigation Meeting was the overwhelming consensus that Anahola be one of the targets for fuels reduction projects. Fittingly enough, Mr. Beimler and Mr. Patten traveled to Anahola after the meeting to identify and photograph wildfire hazards along the east side of the island and meet with Anahola Hawaiian Homes Community Association representatives, including Councilman Kipukai Kualii. HWMO had a fruitful discussion over saimin to start the planning process for making Pii Lani Mai Ke Kai a Firewise Community/Fire Adapted Community.

Garbage dumping - a priority wildfire concern for Anahola Hawaiian Homes residents.

Anahola has had its fair share of scares over the last few months. One of the major hazards identified was an area where abandoned cars and trash/junk were being dumped in tall dry grasses. HWMO will be working with the community to help reduce wildfire hazards. In fact, Anahola will be one of 10-16 communities over the next two years throughout the State!

Palehua Ranch Site Visit

The next two years, HWMO will be focusing attention on sparking communities across Hawaii to start their own fuels reduction projects with seed money provided by HWMO. The bigger picture is to get these communities to become Firewise Communities or Fire Adapted Communities - communities that are active and engaged in protecting the community from the threat of wildfires. 

Incredible view of Waianae near the Palehua Ranch area.

We caravanned with Clay Trauernicht of UH CTAHR Cooperative Extension to meet with Anuhea, a ranger for Palehua Ranch (Gill Ewa Tract) on Oahu after our media event on May 27th. Anu took us on a site visit to see the fire danger surrounding the community of around 20 households, nested amongst ironwoods, eucalyptus, and tall grasses. The homes have been threatened multiple times from wildfires in the area, including the recent Makakilo fire that came dangerously close to the neighborhood and scorched the surrounding lands. Anu was integral in helping firefighters gain access to the wildfire and has been able to get the community rallied behind him for reforestation projects and defensible space action. Residents, he said, are quite attuned to the wildfire threat and have been taking proactive approaches that include removing invasive vegetation and replanting with native species.

We'll be working with Anu and Palehua Ranch these next two years to provide them funding for community fuels reduction projects and eventually applying for Firewise Community Certification.


“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of protection.””
— Chief Eric Moller, USAG-P, FES