Kauaʻi Annual Brush Fire Mitigation Meeting 2017

Each year, KFD invited first response partners and other stakeholders for a brush fire mitigation meeting. This from the 2016 meeting.

Every year, Kauai Fire Department hosts first response partners and other stakeholders on Kauaʻi for a Kauaʻi Brush Fire Mitigation Meeting. This year’s took place on May 22nd at the KFD headquarters in Lihue. HWMO’s Elizabeth Pickett gave updates on HWMO’s work in the area as our first response partners and large landowners and contractors listened in. In total, forty people were in attendance, each taking home a Ready Set Go! Wildland Fire Action Guide and Wildfire Lookout! flyer. We hope for a quiet fire season for Kauai Fire Department and our other friends on Kauaʻi. Another day, another great outreach opportunity for HWMO’s Wildfire Preparedness Month— this time thanks to KFD!

Wildfire Presentation with Aloha Arborist Association

Aloha Arborist Association meeting took place at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Honolulu.

Landscapers and arborists can play a unique role in a Fire Adapted Community — they are the ones that can put fuels reduction practices to action at a large scale. That is why HWMO connected with the Aloha Arborist Association to discuss future partnership opportunities. At the Old Spaghetti Factory in downtown Honolulu, HWMO’s Pablo Beimler presented to a small group of AAA members on May 17th. It was especially timely since May was Wildfire Preparedness Month. Pablo shared background on wildfires and their impacts in Hawaii and introduced members to programs such as Ready, Set, Go!, Firewise, and Wildfire Lookout! that highlight defensible space practices and standards. We thank AAA for the opportunity to speak to the group and look forward to collaborating in the near future.

Hawaii Drought Committee Meeting 2017

It has been another year of intense drought for leeward areas on Hawaiʻi Island. Twenty-five people representing various agencies met in Waimea on May 16 to hear updates on the current drought conditions from NOAA National Weather Service and share updates relating to drought with each other. HWMO was in attendance and we shared about some of the wildfire activity and hazards this year, but also projects we are working on in order to reduce the fire threat, including Wildfire Lookout! We also let people know that it was Wildfire Preparedness Month, encouraging agency representatives to share wildfire readiness information with their networks.

People's Climate Movement in Kona

HWMO's Pablo Beimler at the HWMO outreach booth. Credit - Val Barnes

Climate change has already changed the Hawaiian Islands and will continue to do so in the future. It will take all of us to connect the dots and come together for adapting our communities for what lies ahead. One such climate change impact is the increase in conditions ripe for wildfires in Hawaiʻi. To help build this awareness, HWMO joined as one of many information booths at the People’s Climate Movement in Kailua-Kona organized by Rally for Common Ground. Hundreds of people from all walks of life joined the event, which kicked off with a march through downtown Kona.

At HWMO’s booth, following the march, we distributed our new “Climate Change Impacts on Wildfires in Hawaiʻi” flyers, as well as Ready Set Go! and Wildfire Lookout! materials. The overall positive atmosphere gave us hope that our island could come together to tackle challenging climate issues such as wildfire. 

Waimea Neighborhood Watch Presentation

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Officer May Lee presents after HWMO talk on wildfire preparedness.

A Neighborhood Watch group has many commonalities with being a Firewise Community. They both are community programs that empower residents through sustained actions that create a safe environment. Officer May Lee of Hawaii Police Department has been working to create new Neighborhood Watch groups in South Kohala and saw the similarities of her efforts with HWMO’s Firewise efforts. 

On October 17, Officer Lee invited HWMO’s Community Outreach Coordinator, Pablo Beimler, to speak at Tutu’s House in Waimea about the Firewise Communities Certification program and background on the Ready, Set, Go! program and Wildfire & Drought Look Out! campaign. HWMO will continue to work with Officer Lee to encourage more communities to get active in the Firewise Communities program and in wildfire preparedness, in general.

Puu Kapu Neighborhood Watch Presentation

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Puu Kapu fire in April 2016. Photo credit: Brian Powers

Puu Kapu homesteads in Waimea on the Big Island was affected by a couple of wildfires earlier in 2016. One of the fires, back in April, was captured through the lens of local photographer Brian Powers. A home was surrounded by smoke and flames, but firefighters were courageously able to stop the fire from overtaking the structure. The harrowing experience, however, is just one of the many reminders that Puu Kapu is susceptible to fires, especially during drier periods. 

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Officer May Lee giving a presentation to Puu Kapu Neighborhood Watch.

Hawaii Police Department’s Officer May Lee (South Kohala Community Police Officer) has been working with Puu Kapu and other local neighborhoods to create Neighborhood Watch groups. With fire on the mind due to recent events, Officer Lee invited HWMO to speak to Puu Kapu Neighborhood Watch members about wildfire preparedness. Community Outreach Coordinator Pablo Beimler, on September 29, met with residents at the DHHL meeting room in Waimea and gave a presentation detailing the Wildfire & Drought Look Out! campaign and the Ready, Set, Go! and Firewise Communities Recognition programs. Meeting participants were interested in the idea of Puu Kapu becoming a Firewise Community, which would potentially add another community to an already long list of new certified communities that HWMO is currently working with. 

Banner photo credit: Brian Powers

Hawaii County Drought Committee Meeting

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Kevin Kodama, Hawaii Drought Commission, gives an update on recent drought predictions. 

Drought is an issue that requires all hands on deck to address. Drought affects everything from agricultural yields to cattle health to rainwater catchment to wildfires. Although recent rains have helped alleviate some of the current drought pressures, mostly on the east sides of the islands, droughts will most likely persist on the leeward sides through the summer (and potentially extend back on to the windwards sides).

National Weather Service, Hawaii Drought Commission, Department of Agriculture, Department of Hawaiian Homelands, Department of Water Supply, Hawaii Fire Department, One World One Water, and HWMO representatives gathered at the DHHL Waimea headquarters on June 7th to discuss current drought conditions and what each group was doing to take action.

On the wildfire side, HFD has recently purchased a few tankers for brush trucks to tap off of during wildland fires. Parker Ranch, as reported by Neil Fujii of the Hawaii Drought Commission, had placed fire risk reduction as a top priority and was hoping to add more dip tanks on their lands. HWMO’s Pablo Beimler shared about the Firewise Communities efforts being made statewide and asked for partnership on the Wildfire & Drought Look Out! campaign. Melissa Kunz, PFX Coordination Assistant, shared new PFX resources for large landowners.

For the last half of the meeting, participants added input to the Hawaii Drought Plan update. The facilitators and contractors writing the plan from One World One Water led participants through a series of topics including climate change implications, monitoring needs, drought risk and vulnerabilities, drought committee and response actions, and drought mitigation and preparedness. One World One Water plans to have the update ready by Summer 2017.

Waimea Community Association June Meeting

Although recent rains have helped alleviate some of the drought stress on our islands, the longer drought outlook is still uncertain and there is still some alarm about a dry summer and thus higher wildfire activity.

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Pablo Beimler speaks with community member about wildfire preparedness.

To keep the buzz going about wildfire and drought, HWMO’s Pablo Beimler and Melissa Kunz set-up an information booth at the June 2nd Waimea Community Association monthly meeting at the Waimea Elementary School cafeteria. They primarily shared information with Waimea residents about the Wildfire & Drought Look Out! campaign, Ready Set Go!, and the newest PFX fact sheet on grazing for fuels management. Over 30 residents and political officials and candidates stopped by - the meeting began with updates from County Councilwoman Margaret Wille, Senator Lorraine Inouye, and Representative Cindy Evans (State House of Rep. candidate David Tarnus was also in attendance). 

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Pablo speaks to dozens of Waimea residents about wildfire preparedness in these times of drought.

Pablo followed with a presentation about the Wildfire & Drought Look Out! campaign, sharing quick tips on fire prevention and home preparedness. On the preparedness side, homeowners or renters could focus on three aspects: Hardening the Home, Lightening the Landscape, and Planning Ahead. Pablo also had the special opportunity to thank Senator Inouye and Representative Evans on behalf of HWMO for their push to successfully have our State Grant-In-Aid request approved by the legislature. We are very grateful for their support and excited about the possibilities for ramping up our outreach efforts as a result of the new grant.

HFD firefighters from Waimea’s volunteer station were also in attendance and were congratulated for their Grant-In-Aid reward. They will now have the funds to build up their station in the Kanehoa area.

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New Civil Defense Administrator Ed Teixeira gives a 2016 Hurricane Outlook update.

The final presenter was the new interim administrator of Hawaii County Civil Defense, Ed Teixeira. Formerly the Hawaii State Civil Defense vice director, Mr. Teixeira has an incredible amount of experience in emergency management under his belt - we are excited to work with him over the next few months (and hopefully further into the future). We mahalo newly retired administrator Chief Darryl Oliveira for his service with Civil Defense over the past few years. And of course, we’ll miss the great Civil Defense updates he gave. Mr. Teixeira has some big shoes to fill, but he is already doing a great job in his new position. He kept residents engaged at the tail-end of the meeting with an update on the 2016 hurricane season projections (in a nutshell: we are expecting a few more hurricanes than originally predicted). As with any emergency, prepare early! 

Wildfire & Drought Look Out! Campaign Launch

With drought predicted to persist through the summer, an increase in wildfires is more than likely to follow. That’s way HWMO has teamed with a large list of government and non-government organizations across the state to launch the Wildfire & Drought Look Out! campaign, the first coordinated statewide wildfire outreach campaign in Hawaii’s history.

Pablo Beimler and Elizabeth Pickett flew to Oahu to join a press conference on May 13th to signify the official release of the campaign. Derek Wroe, NOAA National Weather Service, Rob Hauff, Division of Forestry and Wildlife, Captain David Jenkins, Honolulu Fire Department, and no other than Elizabeth Pickett spoke to a group of media from KHON, KITV4, HPR, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, and others. In the backdrop was the recently charred area right above homes in Nanakuli. 

Following the press conference, the media drove up to some of the homes along the fire’s edge with Honolulu Fire Department, HWMO, and other representatives. Captain Jenkins led the media around a couple of the homes to showcase the importance of creating defensible space far in advance of a wildfire.

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Elizabeth Pickett (HWMO) speaks to media with Oahu firefighters standing behind her. In the background: the charred landscape of Nanakuli from the recent fire.

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News reporters and Honolulu Fire Department talk with residents who experienced the fire first-hand and created defensible space far in advance of the fire.

For years, HWMO has made it a goal to have a statewide wildfire outreach campaign become a reality. We are excited to say that this goal become reality and will continue to grow moving forward. HWMO is being embraced as the hub of wildfire info for the state and all of our agency colleagues and fire suppression folks. “We started at Pu'u Wa'awa'a and Waikoloa and worked our way to assisting additional regions and islands with the vision of being useful and utilized in big ways at the state level, and this signifies exciting progress toward that,” says Elizabeth Pickett. 

The campaign is hosted on our website here: 

Special thanks to Dan Dennison for stepping up as an incredible coordinator of these efforts (and producing the above video) and of course to all of our partners involved in this momentous effort!

Tune in to our News Center for links on the press conference on the 13th and any new updates regarding Wildfire & Drought Look Out!