Field Tour of Leeward Wildfire Projects and Fire Prone Areas with Alex Friend (USFS PSW)

Through the Pacific Fire Exchange (PFX), Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization’s (HWMO) Elizabeth Pickett and Pablo Beimler and U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Institute for Pacific Islands Forestry’s (USFS PSW IPIF) Christian Giardina facilitated a field tour of leeward wildfire mitigation projects and fire-prone sites for the Station Director of the U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station, Alex Friend. 

The group first visited HWMO’s Waikoloa Dryland Wildfire Safety Park, Hawaii’s only Firewise demo garden, located at the end of Melia St. in Waikoloa Village. The park demonstrates how to reduce the impacts of wildfires through defensible space landscaping and fire-resistant building materials. The garden primarily consists of low-maintenance, native Hawaiian species that are resistant to drought, wind, and heat. Pickett and Beimler led the site visitors through the freshly-weeded garden (HWMO had held a Community Work Morning that day), explaining all of the hard work that HWMO and its partners and community members have put into the project. The hard work had payed off, judging by the plethora of new blossoms emerging on many of the native dryland plants (including ‘Ihi, ‘Ilima papa, Pohinahina, and ‘Ulei). The garden has made a positive impact for the community by not only adding aesthetic value to the neighborhood, but also providing a learning space for Firewise principles that residents can directly apply to their own homes. HWMO is planning on further site visits, including for the upcoming CNH Seminar Forest Fire Seminar and Training on April 9th-11th, and holding a Wildfire Awareness, Prevention, and Work Day event for the first National Wildfire Prevention Day on May 3rd. 

To top off the field tour, the group traveled to the Waikoloa Dry Forest Initiative’s (WDFI) Forest Preserve, located just southwest of Waikoloa Village. Jen Lawson, the Project Manager who has tirelessly coordinated the restoration, education and volunteer efforts for the preserve, greeted the group at the front gate and led a site tour. The group only scratched the surface of the 275 acre preserve, but were able to see the results of the projects, thus far. Wiliwili trees were sprouting new offspring, while ‘Ilima papa groves were blossoming. The group stopped by the lush nursery, where Jen pulled out a map of the preserve and described the wildfire threat that always looms. HWMO has coordinated with WDFI to co-fund fuelbreak implementations around the perimeter of the preserve, not without their share of challenges. However, the fuelbreaks have added significant security against wildfire scares, especially on the Northeast end of the preserve, where a wildfire would most likely come from. 

Through the field tour, HWMO, PFX, and USFS PSW IPIF were able to communicate to Friend the wildfire issues that Hawaii faces and how these organizations are making great strides in mitigating wildfire threats on the leeward side of Hawaii island, as well as the rest of the State and the Pacific.

Banner photo: (Left to Right): Alex Friend (USFS PSW), Jen Lawson (WDFI), Christian Giardina (USFS PSW-IPIF & PFX), and Elizabeth Pickett (HWMO & PFX) scan through Waikoloa Dry Forest Preserve maps and discuss HWMO co-funded fuelbreaks.

Nahelehele Dryland Forest Symposium Poster Session - 2014

Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization and Pacific Fire Exchange partnered up to present a poster about Hawaii's wildfire problem at this year's Nahelehele Dryland Forest Symposium. A couple hundred people from a variety of different organizations involved in various degrees of conservation work attended the event, many of whom stopped by to visit our poster. Clay Trauernicht (UH Co-op Extension and PFX), Pablo Beimler (HWMO and PFX), and Ilene Grossman (HWMO) spoke to visitors about the many projects HWMO and PFX are involved in and how those projects are helping mitigate Hawaii's wildfire problem. One of the highlight's of the booth was the presentation of the most recent fire history maps, printed out on a large poster board. At one point, a retired HFD firefighter stopped by and interacted with the poster by sharing stories and lessons learned about specific points on the map. 

By teaming up for this year's Dryland Forest Symposium, PFX and HWMO are continuing to forge a stronger partnership in order to amplify our outreach efforts.

Here is a summary of our poster board: 

"Wildfires in Hawaii are increasing in frequency, size, and severity on all islands, threatening communities, agricultural lands and natural resources.   932 wildfires burned 17,500 acres per year on average statewide over the past decade (2002-2011) and a greater percentage of Hawaii’s land areas is under higher risk of wildfire than the 16 western-most US states. Furthermore, wildfire impacts and suppression costs are increasing while resources for wildfire management and research remain unchanged and insufficient. HWMO has been working with County, State, and Federal firefighting agencies and communities to better understand wildfire trends and issues, complete wildfire planning, provide outreach and education, and mitigate wildfire impacts and increase suppression capacity. PFX, which HWMO helped to form as part of a multi-agency effort, is working to identify wildfire management needs and knowledge gaps, synthesize existing information and produce new scientific information on Hawaii wildfire management, and  provide best management practices for wildfire mitigation, suppression, and post-fire response."

Banner photo: This year's poster for the Nahelehele Dryland Forest Symposium. Our most current fire history map was a hit!

Big Island Wildfire Coordinating Group (BIWCG) Meeting - Feb. 2014

The Big Island Wildfire Coordinating Group (BIWCG) met for its quarterly meeting at the DOFAW office in Hilo. Members represented the following agencies: DOFAW, USFWS, HCC, HFD, NPS, Firewise Hawaii, HWMO, and PFX. Wayne Ching (DOFAW), lead organizer of this year's CNH Spring event kicked off the meeting with an update on the upcoming event's proceedings and logistics. 

Clay Trauernicht of PFX then gave a review of the recent Hawaii Wildfire Risk Assessment organized by Ching a few weeks ago. The risk assessment was developed for the 17 western-most states (including Hawaii and Alaska) using a variety of inputs such as fuel models, topography and historical ignition points. Clay emphasized that the most striking message from the assessment was that Hawaii showed the largest amount of burnable acres out of all 17 states. Such striking data and maps will be useful in conveying the severity of Hawaii's wildfire issue to community members, land managers, first responders, and decision-makers. 

The PFX team also presented the group with a rough draft of Trauernicht's Hawaii Wildfire Problem Statement in newsletter-type form along with a variety of new templates for upcoming PFX fact sheets. BIWCG members were enthusiastic and appreciative to see the work done by PFX and HWMO, which could not have been done without partner support.

Elizabeth Pickett of PFX and HWMO and Clay Trauernicht of PFX and UH Co-op Extension were then invited to represent their respective agencies at the State Fire Council meeting to present the problem statement to the group.

Banner photo: BIWCG members discuss current projects from around the island.

Kona Home Show - 2013

Education and Outreach Coordinator Pablo Beimler extended our outreach day into the late afternoon by representing BIWCG and HWMO at the Kona Home Show at the Sheraton Resort in Keauhou. The indoor event hosted a wide range of vendors, but our booth was unique in that we provided valuable information for protecting homes and families from disasters such as tsunamis and wildfires. From 2-5pm, when HWMO hosted the booth, a few dozen people stopped by to talk and learn about HWMO and PFX and information on how to safeguard homes and communities from wildfire. 

Hilo Fire Prevention Week - 2013

HWMO's Pablo Beimler set up a booth representing HWMO and PFX down in Hilo for this year's Fire Prevention Week. The theme for the event, "Prevent Kitchen Fires," did not go unnoticed, as local firefighters helped kids put out demonstration stove fires with fire extinguishers. Other exciting demonstrations included a "Jaws of Life" car rescue and a helicopter rescue right there on the shore of Bayfront Park. Although it rained throughout the day, a few hundred people (mostly families with their kids) made it out to the event. We passed out a number of "Ready, Set, Go" preparedness guides, NFPA pamphlets, and a great deal of Smokey the Bear gear. We also spoke to a few fire fighters about the Pacific Fire Exchange, which they took great interest in. All in all, another successful event that left the kids more aware about fire safety and with a smile on their face. 

Banner photo: The crowd looks on as firefighters demonstrate a thrilling and informative car rescue with the "Jaws of Life."

Pacific Fire Exchange - 3rd Advisory Panel Meeting

HWMO’s staff members Elizabeth Pickett and Pablo Beimler flew to Oahu to meet with members of the Pacific Fire Exchange Advisory Panel, which includes our very own Board President, Miles Nakahara, and partners from the University of Hawaii, USDA Forest Service and Natural Resource Conservation Service, Department of Defense, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Pacific Disaster Center, and many more. We presented the PFX overview and goals and broke out into discussion groups to brainstorm "knowledge themes." 

Banner photo: J.B. Friday, Extension Forester at UH Manoa, takes notes from a group discussion regarding "knowledge themes" for Applied Science and Management.

Annual HWMO All-Partner Meeting 2013

HWMO and its firefighting and natural resource management partners gathered at the Pohakuloa Training Area to share updates about fire mitigation and planning work that has taken place throughout the last year. HWMO released, for the first time, results of our statewide community hazard assessments, as well as draft maps of a statewide fire event history. Over fifty partners from eighteen agencies and organizations attended the event, as well as two County Council Members and State Representative Cindy Evans.

The PFX field tour, following the meeting, to Mauna Kea State Park was the first tour PFX had organized in its young existence. The tour highlighted, at the physical location of the Mauna Kea State Park Fire, the first-hand experiences of fighting the fire - topics included fire boundaries, initial and extended attack details, incident command, mop-up, results of the After Action Review, and suppression challenges/successes. These topics were led by five of our partners (including one of our very own Board of Directors):

• Eric Moller, PTA Army Fire Chief
• Glen Timbal, PTA Army Assistant Fire Chief
• Jay Hatayama, DOFAW Protection Forester
• Wayne Ching, DOFAW Fire Management Officer
• Miles Nakahara, HWMO President

The tour concluded with a discussion on the ramifications on future fire and resource management for this area and its included and nearby critical habitat.

Banner photo: Field Tour of Mauna Kea State Park, after the meeting, to highlight the 2010 wildfire. 

Nahelehele Dryland Forest Symposium 2013

The 7th annual Dryland Forest Symposium, at the King Kamehameha Kona Beach Hotel, was headlined by presenters from multiple agencies concerned with restoring Hawaii’s rare dryland forests. HWMO’s own Elizabeth Pickett and Tom Loomis were invited to present our poster representing both HWMO and PFX.

Hawaii Conservation Conference - 2012

HWMO’s entire staff attended the Hawaii Conservation Conference - a three day event at the Honolulu Convention Center full of lectures, presentations, and fun. HWMO’s very own Elizabeth Pickett presented on the new Pacific Fire Exchange. She also worked with PFX partners to lead an afternoon meeting to provide an update on PFX accomplishments.

PFX Advisory Panel Meeting 2012

Elizabeth Pickett, representing HWMO, helped put together this consortium meeting in Oahu in order to discuss the direction and augmentations of goals.