Puuwaawaa Habitat Conservation Plan Community Meeting

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HWMO teamed with DLNR DOFAW to host an informational booth regarding wildfire history and management in Puuwaawaa.

Puuwaawaa has long been an area of interest for wildfire protection not only for HWMO, but for the state. Over the years, countless wildfires have threatened the native preserves on the mauka and makai stretches of the ahupuaa, prompting numerous efforts to create buffers within and around them. Much time and effort has been spent by DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) and its partnering organizations to restore the native dryland forest throughout Puuwaawaa. 

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DOFAW representatives and community members gathered for the input portion of the meeting.

As part of the long-awaited Habitat Conservation Plan that will soon be established, DLNR DOFAW representatives held a community input meeting on March 1st at Auntie Sally's Hale in Hilo (another meeting will be held on March 7th in Kona). HWMO's Pablo Beimler drove to the meeting to hold court during an information session during the first half of the meeting. Pablo shared information regarding fire history in the area and prevention/preparedness tips for residents. DOFAW's Jupiter sat next to Pablo and shared great information on wildfire mitigation efforts that have taken place to protect the native forests of Puuwaawaa. 

To conclude the meeting, comments on the plan were opened up to the public - a great opportunity for community members to share their perspectives and thoughts on how Puuwaawaa should be managed.

HCC Palamanui Grand Opening and Open House

The new campus in Kailua-Kona, HCC Palamanui, put on an exciting event on February 27th to showcase the campus and all it has to offer.

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HWMO's Sam Patten (left) and Pablo Beimler (right) hold down the booth for the day.

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Keiki Wildland Firefighter Photo Shoot

HWMO's Pablo Beimler and Sam Patten held an informational booth for visitors interested in wildfire prevention and preparedness. We had a number of great conversations with residents and visitors of the island, especially regarding El Niño and the drought and increase in wildfires that will come with it. HCC Palamanui's landscape designer, Calley O'Neill hosted a booth next to ours that showcased the landscape plans for the campus. Only a week or so earlier, HWMO representatives had met with her and other HCC Palamanui officials, to discuss integrating Firewise landscaping into the plan. 

A few keiki visitors also stopped by the booth, including some future wildland firefighters. 

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. 

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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.

K-Mart Kona Safety Event

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Future firefighter all bundled up.

September and October are prime times of the year for safety awareness and preparedness. Fire Prevention Week is October 4-10 this year and September was National Preparedness Month. This past weekend, K-Mart sponsored a National Safety Event by hosting various groups to set-up in-front of the store to prepare customers for emergencies.

On Saturday, October 3rd, HWMO reached out to a number of customers who were pleasantly surprised to find activities and giveaways for keiki and wildfire prep information for the whole family. A few excited future-firefighters dressed up in wildland fire gear and posed for Polaroid photos they could take home and keep as a memory. 

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No question he's ready for firefighting action.

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Wildland Firefighter photo also comes in Polaroid (which the keiki get to keep!)

Our neighbors from the Department of Public Health were a group of friendly nurses who shared information with families about child seat and seat belt safety. Hawaii Police Department and Hawaii Fire Department joined nurses in the parking lot to conduct free child seat inspections for customers, as well.

Preparedness season doesn't stop there. HWMO will be setting up at this year's Kohala Mountain Pumpkin Patch on October 10th from 10a to 5p.

Ready, Set, Go! Workshop with Hawaiiana Management Co.

Lualaʻi at Parker Ranch - one of the many properties managed by Hawaiiana Management Co. Credit - Hawaiiana Management Co.

The Ready, Set, Go! wildfire preparedness message is important for just about anyone who is remotely impacted by wildfire. We've done workshops with a number of groups including Kaʻū Coffee Growers Cooperative, Waikoloa Senior Center, various Rotary Club chapters, and so on. 

Our latest workshop brought us to Kailua-Kona where we met with a group of resident-property-managers for the Hawaiiana Management Company on May 7th. The property management company owns a number of properties throughout the west side of Hawaii Island and across the State. 

As part of a morning of training for the managers, we gave a presentation about the Ready, Set, Go! program and how the managers could use these tools for their own properties and forward the message on to their residents. 

We had a couple managers jump on the idea of using Firewise native plants in their areas and asked us for more information on how to get started.

Banner photo above: Pōhinahina, one of the many Firewise native plants we promote during our workshops.

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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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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North Kona CWPP Community Meetings

Dry vegetation. Check. Roadside ignition hazards. Check. Challenging firefighter access. Check. North Kona has all of the ingredients that make-up a wildfire-prone area. That's why we've taken initiative this year to put together North Kona's first Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). Of course, a solid CWPP can only be created through the guidance of the community (it says it right there in the name!) The Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization team held three community meetings to draw input from local residents, resource managers, large landowners, and emergency responders in the North Kona region. The first meeting was held at the Puʻu Anahulu Community Center on the evening of January 27th. With a fading sunset as the backdrop of the outdoor meeting, twenty-two residents, ranchers, and firefighters gathered for the meeting, which kicked-off with a presentation by HWMO's Executive Director, Elizabeth Pickett. Following the presentation, the attendees grouped up in small discussion groups to put down their wildfire concerns and recommended actions and projects to address those concerns. After the thoughtful discussions were conducted, HWMO staff asked a group representative to speak for each group and unveil some of their group's action items. HWMO staff then hung all of the input on a wall and had attendees vote for their highest priority concerns and projects, which will also make it into the finalized plan. To wrap it all up, participants placed stickers to mark their places of value or in other words, favorite places in the North Kona area on a giant map we printed for the meeting. 

We followed this same procedure at subsequent meetings at the Civic Center and Kealakehe Intermediate School on January 29th. A total of ten community members showed up to the meetings, most of them hailing from the Pines I & II communities that just had a wildfire scare - in fact, they've had a few of them within the last couple of years. 

In just three one-hour meetings, we were able to collect an incredible amount of input from such enthusiastic community members. We wanted to share some of it with you (as a preview before the finalized plan is released):

Wildfire Concerns

1) Poor road access 
2) Poor water access
3) Firebreak at Puʻu Lani Ranch
4) Archaeological and burial sites on private and state lands need protection
5) Roadside ignitions
6) Create access to GMA above Puʻu Lani Ranch to maintain firebreaks & grass control
7) Roadside fuels and empty lot overgrowth

Recommended Actions

1) High-capacity off-road vehicles for HFD; Create firebreaks and access roads
2) More dip tanks; Mandatory hose fittings at each home; Keep hydrants clear
3) Needs maintenance
4) Create firebreaks; Utilize grazing
5) More signage along roads; Call boxes/alert systems along roads
6) Work with the State and Puʻu Lani homeowners
7) Homeowners Associations and HWMO to help fund weed-whacking days to help out; Fences for livestock grazing; Create Brush Abatement laws; Educate public about Firewise landscaping and drought-resistant native plants

These were just a few examples of the large collection of input we gathered at the meetings. Stay tuned for the finalized plan which we'll post on the website upon completion. 

Mahalo to all of you who participated in the North Kona CWPP meetings. We can't make these plans without your support and guidance! 

Banner photo: Residents, ranchers, and firefighters gathered at Puʻu Anahulu Community Center to offer their input for the North Kona CWPP.

Ready, Set, Go! Workshop with Kona Mauka Rotary Club

HWMO's Elizabeth Pickett and Pablo Beimler traveled down to Teshima's Restaurant on November 18th to meet with Kona Mauka Rotary Club members and give a Ready, Set, Go! presentation. Around 25 attendees turned their ears towards the HWMO representatives who spoke of Hawaii's wildfire issues, how HWMO was helping reduce wildfire hazards around communities, and what each attendee could do to protect their home and family. We had some great follow-up questions and discussions after the presentation, as well. 

We'd like to thank the Rotary Club for being such great hosts at each of our workshops with them.

Banner photo: Around 25 Kona Mauka Rotary Club members listen-in as Elizabeth Pickett talks about Hawaii's wildfire issues.