Launiupoko Firewise Certification Celebration

Launiupoko, just south of Lahaina on Maui, had a busy fire season last year (even a couple fires burned within the subdivision for the first time). A group of residents responded by forming a Firewise Committee and taking the necessary steps towards Firewise certification. As of 2016, the community is now an official Firewise Community, the first in Western Maui. 

Launiuopoko became a Firewise Community as of 2016 and is sporting their certification proudly on their main road.

This accomplishment was celebrated on May 15th at the home of one of the Firewise Committee members. HWMO’s Pablo Beimler was invited to join and to hold the floor for a speech. Committee members and their neighbors made up a group of 16 or so at the celebration. Pablo thanked the community for its hard work and reminded them that this was only the beginning of a long journey towards becoming a Fire Adapted Community, one in which ALL local stakeholders share responsibility in the wildfire solution. The community is off to a great start and although they are presented with some monumental challenges, they continue to be persistent and enthusiastic in their efforts. Truly inspiring.

Kohala Waterfront Firewise Hazard Assessment

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.

Kohala Waterfront Firewise Opportunity Meeting and Site Visit

Kawaihae is quickly becoming a hub of Firewise activities. Kohala-By-The-Sea has been a certified community every year since 2004! Honokoa, formerly Kailapa, became the first Hawaiian homestead to receive Firewise recognition for the efforts last year. Word is spreading like wildfire and now Kohala Waterfront, directly across from Kohala-By-The-Sea and just northwest of Honokoa, could be certified this year. HWMO’s Executive Director, Elizabeth Pickett, met with residents on March 23 to familiarize them on the Firewise application process. With Hawaii Fire Department prevention officials on hand, the small group visited an area of concern and brainstormed ideas for wildfire risk reduction projects.

Walking the Kohala Waterfront perimeter to examine wildfire hazards.

HFD, Hawaiiana Management Company, HWMO meeting with Kohala Waterfront residents.

Waikiʻi Ranch Firewise Hazard Assessment

HFD Fire Prevention, HWMO, and Waikiʻi Ranch HOA teamed up to assess wildfire hazards in and around the subdivision.

For the casual passer-by during the winter, the rolling green hills of Waikiʻi Ranch may strike them as an area free of wildfire threats. However, over the past several years, Waikiʻi Ranch has had numerous close calls with wildfires that have burned in and around the subdivision. The subdivision is exposed on each side by large tracts of unmanaged grass and shrublands prone to ignition from starts along neighboring roads and highways. 

On March 6, HWMO teamed up with Hawaiʻi Fire Department and Waikiʻi Ranch HOA to conduct a Firewise hazard assessment for Waikiʻi. The group first met at the community clubhouse to discuss what it takes for a community to become Firewise certified. As a major first step towards certification, the a few members of the group drove to various points of interest within the community. Some of the major wildfire hazards that struck our attention included the many dead trees along the edges of roads and fencelines, piles of wood underneath tree canopies, and large expanses of unmanaged grass and shrublands surrounding homes and the greater Waikiʻi area. 

The association has been allocating some of their funds and resources towards Firewise improvements already. Most notably, the community has herds of cows, goats, and sheep that are used to graze easements along the perimeters of properties and the subdivision boundary. As more and more people in Waikiʻi join the Firewise efforts, the community will hopefully become another shining example in Hawaiʻi and a part of a statewide collaborative, grassroots movement for communities to take fire readiness into their own hands.

Puʻunoa Firewise Hazard Assessment

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Assessment team walking along a road to assess wildfire risks/hazards.

In 2016, Launiupoko, near Lahaina, became the first nationally-recognized Firewise Community in West Maui. The accomplishment did not go unnoticed. In fact, news quickly spread to the neighboring Puʻunoa community. This year, Puʻunoa will be working towards the same certification as Launiupoko. 

To begin the process, HWMO joined its partners from Division of Forestry and Wildlife and West Maui Mountains Watershed Partnership to conduct a Firewise hazard assessment of the agricultural lots in Puʻunoa. The team first met with several residents from Puʻunoa and the general manager of the HOA to discuss the Firewise certification process.

Assessment team examines road crossing on Kauaula Stream that was damaged during a recent rain event. 

They soon followed the meeting by caravanning (and walking/hiking) throughout the community to assess common wildfire hazards and successful Firewise modifications around homes. Brainstorming ideas, the topic of managed grazing emerged numerous times as one of the ways to mitigate the large tracts of flammable grasslands. The group made their way to the Makila Reservoir and Kauaula Stream, important water suppression resources used by firefighters during past wildfires in the area. During one of the recent storms, the roadway across the stream was destroyed — flooding is another hazard the community faces.

Mahalo to DOFAW, WMMWP, Hawaiiana Management Company, and the newly formed Puʻunoa Firewise Committee for playing an important role in moving Puʻunoa towards Firewise certification.

Waikoloa Firewise Forum

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Elizabeth Pickett, HWMO, gives background on community-wide wildfire hazards in Waikoloa.

Getting a community engaged in Firewise actions in December, especially on rainy days, can certainly be a challenge. Yet, Waikoloa Village Fire Management Action Committee was up for the challenge and took it head on by holding a Firewise Forum on December 8 at the Waikoloa Village conference room. As a joint forum with HWMO, together they kept participants up-to-date about the Firewise Communities efforts that had been accomplished in 2016. HWMO’s Executive Director, Elizabeth Pickett, gave a presentation on the community-wide wildfire hazards that Waikoloa Village has and continues to face. Community Outreach Coordinator, Pablo Beimler, presented on the common wildfire hazards within close proximity of homes and solutions for addressing those hazards (i.e. defensible space practices and hardening of the home). HWMO handed out Ready, Set, Go! Wildland Fire Action Guides to each of the participants to follow along with the presentation. 

Upon completion of the forum (Firewise Day), Waikoloa Village had officially checked off each of the requirements for Firewise Community certification. As of 2016, the village will be the largest Firewise Community in the state (and one of seven new communities this year)! What a year!

Puako Firewise Community Hazard Assessment

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HWMO, HFD, and Puako Firewise Committee teamed up to conduct a hazard assessment on December 2.

On December 2, Puako Firewise Committee checked another major box off the list to become a Firewise Community as of 2016 (neighboring Waialea is also on pace for certification this year). Committee members, along with HWMO and Hawaii Fire Department, caravanned through the subdivision to note common wildfire hazards and good Firewise practices already being implemented.

Although the community has taken major steps towards wildfire protection by creating a large fuelbreak on the mauka side of the subdivision, homes are still at-risk of wildfires, especially from lofted embers. There is still much work that should be done directly behind homes on the mauka side — the Puako Firewise Committee is ready to take on this challenge as one of their next steps for the coming year. For now, the committee is bracing for a Firewise Community certification that has been a long time coming for them. 

Launiupoko Firewise Day 2016

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Launiupoko Firewise Committee members gathered together to put together wildfire preparedness mailers for over 350 residents.

Launiupoko in Western Maui is well on their way to Firewise Community certification as of 2016, making them one of the first to be certified on the island (Waiohuli and Kahikinui are also in the mix). To fulfill their “Firewise Day” requirement for the year, the Launiupoko Firewise Committee gathered at a home to put together mailer packets with wildfire preparedness information, including Hawaii Ready, Set, Go! Wildfire Action Guides, for over 350 residents. The committee members than handed off the packets to the local association management, who then mailed them off to all residents in Launiupoko. 

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The handoff: giving the mailer packets to the association staff to send out to residents.

We are so proud of the work Launiupoko has done to truly take matters into their own hands and already address wildfire concerns that were identified during a community hazard assessment earlier in the year. Keep up the good work, Launiupoko! Mahalo to West Maui Mountains Watershed Partnership for their invaluable help this year with the certification process, as well. 

Kahikinui Ready, Set, Go! Workshop and Firewise Hazard Assessment

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Assessment team poses in front of a local example of xeriscaping using Firewise principles and native/adapted plants.

Kahikinui continued its incredible year of wildfire protection efforts on November 6, 2016. The homestead on the southern slopes of Haleakala on Maui is a small, but very active community that is on pace to become one of the first Firewise Communities on the island (and one of the first Hawaiian homesteads in the state). As one of the requirements, HWMO, Leeward Haleakala Watershed Restoration Partnership, and Department of Hawaiian Home Lands conducted a wildfire hazard assessment with Kahikinui Firewise Committee members. Together, they drove around the bumpy 4-WD roads of the community to take note of common wildfire hazards and good Firewise practices already being implemented. The greatest concerns were the high fuel loads on the highway, between homes, and in the surrounding wildland areas. Lack of water resources and firefighting access and ingress/egress were also noticeable concerns.

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Assessment team walks the perimeter of a Firewise home within the community.

The Kahikinui Firewise Committee is already planning and working on multiple projects to address these concerns. With a contribution from Sempra Auwahi Wind, they will replace their front gate and remove flammable vegetation at the entrance of the community in December. The proactive committee is a great model for other communities at-risk of wildfires — even with the numerous challenges they face, they have persisted to take small, but important, steps to reduce wildfire hazards to protect their beloved home.

Kailapa Firewise Community Hazard Assessment

Kailapa is a Hawaiian homestead in Kawaihae on over 10,000 acres from the shoreline to the base of Kohala Mountain. Homes there, first built in the late 1980s, are surrounded by very flammable grasslands that have experienced numerous fires over the years. Winds are a major factor in the extreme wildfire behavior that can occur in the area. The most recent threat occurred starting on August 8, 2015. The most recent threat occurred starting on August 8, 2015. A 4,5000-acre wildfire burned across Kawaihae, directly impacting local communities, businesses, and cultural sites in the area. Roads were closed and evacuations were ordered by Civil Defense for Kawaihae. Nearly 90% of the native plants at Puu Kohola were destroyed and large piles of timber from a eucalyptus harvest project in Hamakua were ablaze. The fire burned towards Kailapa, but firefighters were able to stop it a few gulches away. A week later, a large rainfall event washed unprecedented amounts of sediment and debris down the watersheds and out into the ocean, smothering neighboring coral reefs. Local residents recount that the floods were the worst in recent memory. HWMO produced a video documenting the events.

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Assessment team looks out at the neighboring wildland areas that have burned numerous times.

The wildfire concerns in Kailapa have spurred the community to action. Since the beginning of 2016, a group of Kailapa residents have been working with HWMO to protect their community from wildfire by becoming a nationally-recognized Firewise Community. As one of the requirements, HWMO and Hawaii Fire Department conducted a community wildfire hazard assessment with Kailapa residents on November 3. Together, the assessment team caravanned throughout the community to note and photograph common wildfire hazards, as well as good Firewise practices already being implemented. The greatest concerns were the lack of water resources, ingress/egress, and fuels management between homes and in the surrounding wildland areas.

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Living fuelbreak that was created in the spring of 2016 using U.S. Forest Service WUI grant funding through HWMO.

In the spring of 2016, Kailapa, with the facilitation of U.S. Forest Service WUI funds from HWMO, created a living fuelbreak on a slope on Kona side of the subdivision. The community would like to continue and expand project such as these throughout the subdivision to better protect homes from the dangers of wildfire in Kawaihae.

Kailapa is on pace to become the first Hawaiian homestead on Hawaii Island to be a certified Firewise Community. Great work Kailapa!