Hawaiʻi Kai Community Safety Town Hall Meeting

Packed house for the Hawaiʻi Kai Community Safety Town Hall Meeting on June 6, 2017.

Cameron Sato (left), Office of Senator Stanley Chang, and Pablo Beimler (right), HWMO in front of Kamilonui Valley burn scar.

As part of a double-header of community safety events in Hawaiʻi Kai, Representative Gene Ward, Senator Stanley Chang, Councilmember Trevor Ozawa, and Senator Laura Thielen again teamed up, this time to hold a public safety town hall meeting on June 6. Just the night before, HWMO gave a workshop on wildfire readiness to fifty or so community members. At the June 6 meeting, seventy-five people were in attendance to hear updates from Honolulu Fire Department, Honolulu Police Department, and HWMO.

Several community members also voiced their concerns about what they felt were safety issues in their community. After the meeting, we spoke with a number of community members regarding specific fire safety concerns in the area. HWMO will be following up in Hawaiʻi Kai with additional support for Firewise Communities certification and hopefully soon, a Community Wildfire Protection Plan. Big mahalo to Senators Chang and Thielen, Representative Ward, and Councilmember Ozawa for having us be speakers at the two meetings and to HFD, HPD, and DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife for their added support.

Hawaiʻi Kai Wildfire Safety Workshop

From left to right: Senator Laura Thielen, Captain David Jenkins (Honolulu FD), Cameron Sato (Senator Chang's Office), Kalama Pastor (Kamehameha Schools), Councilmember Trevor Ozawa, Senator Stanley Chang, Pablo Beimler (HWMO), Elizabeth Pickett (HWMO)

Hawaiʻi Kai residents have been on edge since the beginning of the year — over a dozen fires have been started near communities, one of which became a high-profile burn in Kamilonui Valley. Although most have been deemed suspicious by authorities, accidents can also happen (around 75% of brushfires in Hawaiʻi are accidental ignitions). With fire on the minds of so many residents, Senator Stanley Chang, Representative Gene Ward, Councilmember Trevor Ozawa, and Senator Laura Thielen worked across party lines to hold a Wildfire Safety Workshop on June 5 at Kamiloiki Elementary School.

HWMO had the honor of presenting an hour-long workshop highlighting wildfire readiness recommendations based on the Ready Set Go! and Wildfire Lookout! programs. We also worked to recruit people interested in being a part of Firewise Communities certification efforts. Our hope is that the fifty or so people who came out to the event will take action around their homes right away to create defensible space — but our even greater hope is that the community will start to come together for the larger goal of becoming a Firewise Community (or a couple of them).

Waiʻanae Coast Disaster Readiness Fair 2017

Waiʻanae Coast Disaster Readiness Fair booths.

HWMO was invited by Waiʻanae Coast Disaster Preparedness Team to set-up an outreach booth at this year’s Waiʻanae Coast Disaster Readiness Fair at the Waiʻanae Mall. The June 3rd event hosted a variety of different wildfire readiness organizations, some of whom also held workshops. We spoke to many different residents from across the Waiʻanae region and handed out Ready Set Go!, Wildfire Lookout!, and Firewise Communities materials to educate people on wildfire readiness. Some visitors also shared their close encounters with wildfires.

Throughout the day, strong trade winds kept us all on high alert, not only because fire danger is greater when they are blowing, but also because our handouts and outreach materials were at risk of blowing away. Indeed, at the tail end of the event, our tent was no match for the winds and tipped over, knocking out flyers over. Thankfully, emergency responders were all over the place and were quick to collect the materials speedily and in coordinated fashion. A small testament to why we love being a part of the emergency management field!

Wildfire Lookout! Statewide School Distribution

In what may be one of HWMO’s most ambitious efforts, we set out to distribute as many Wildfire Lookout! flyers to as many schools as we could on the leeward sides of each of the major islands in Hawaiʻi. With boxes upon boxes of Wildfire Lookout! flyers stuffed into suitcases, HWMO’s Elizabeth Pickett and Pablo Beimler visited over 50 schools on Kauaʻi, Maui, Oʻahu, and Hawaiʻi Island from May 22-24 and distributed a total of nearly 25,000 flyers. Those flyers were included in students’ final take-home packets before the summer (and peak fire season) begun.

The outreach push was made possible thanks to Grant-In-Aid from the State and was another highlight of Wildfire Preparedness Month this year. Thank you to all of the schools’ staff for helping distribute flyers to students (some schools posted the flyers in the office, library, cafeteria, or other common spaces). 

Banner photo: Waimea Canyon school with recent wildfire-scarred area in background.

Ready Set Go! Workshop at Waiʻanae Library

HWMO is in discussions with the Waiʻanae Library about creating a Firewise garden much like the one in Waikoloa Village.

As part of May’s Wildfire Preparedness Month, HWMO held a workshop for Waiʻanae residents at the Waiʻanae Public Library on May 24. HWMO’s Community Outreach Coordinator, Pablo Beimler, gave an in-depth tour of the Ready, Set, Go! program as several community members jotted down notes on how they might improve their wildfire safety around their own homes. An exciting opportunity is on the horizon for community members to get involved with — HWMO and the library are teaming up to establish a Firewise native and adapted garden around the perimeter of the library, similar to the Firewise garden in Waikoloa Village that HWMO helped create and maintain. If you would like to get involved in planting and helping with other garden tasks, sign up for our e-newsletter.

Special thanks to Sheryl Lynch who was instrumental in helping organize the event.

Banner photo: View of Waiʻanae Mountains from Kaneaki Street.

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.

OANRP Volunteer Day at Pualiʻi -- Wildfire Preparedness Month

As part of Wildfire Preparedness Month in May, several HWMO partners held volunteer events to raise awareness regarding wildfire impacts and readiness. 

Oʻahu Army Natural Resources held an event on May 11. This from Celeste Hanley, Outreach Specialist for OANRP:

"Five volunteers hiked into the central Wai'anae mountains with the O'ahu Army Natural Resources Program to help control invasive weeds at Puali'i.  Controlling grasses is critical to reducing the risk of fire to native Hawaiian forests, particularly in a dry forest habitat such as that within Puali'i gulch. The volunteers supported the effort to conserve endangered ko'oloa (Abutilon sandwicense) and important dry forest habitat containing lonomea (Sapindus sp.) through their weeding efforts."

Endangered koʻoloa (Abutilon sandwicense). Credit: OANRP

Pualiʻi Gulch. Credit: OANRP

Mahalo OANRP and its volunteers for participating in this year's Wildfire Preparedness Month!

Kaʻena Community Wildfire Preparedness Day

The volunteer group taking a tour of a recent burn at Kaʻena State Park. Credit - Dawn Bruns, US Fish and Wildlife Service

“Did you know that 9 out of 10 wildfire are caused by people and could have been prevented? In fact, wildland fires consume hundreds of homes across the nation annually, and Hawaii is at a similar risk.”

As part of National Community Wildfire Preparedness Day on May 6 (and a month of activities the rest of the month of May), DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife and Hawaii State Parks co-sponsored a volunteer event at Kaʻena State Park. Jaime Raduenzel of U.S. Army Garrison-Hawaii’s Oʻahu Cultural Resources Program and Dietra Myers-Tremblay of DLNR DOFAW gave presentations to enlighten volunteers about fire protection resources, wildfire readiness, invasive vegetation that fuels wildfires, and drought-tolerant Firewise plants. The volunteers also got to take a tour of the site, “a sacred and fragile coastal dune ecosystem, home to many native coastal plants and animals that could not be found anywhere else in the world.” They then created defensible space around the perimeter of the new Kaʻena Point Baseyard and hiked out to a recent burn. 

WILDFIRE PREP MONTH CONTEST WINNER!

A job well done, clearing defensible space around the base-yard on Community Wildfire Prep Day. Credit - Dawn Bruns, US Fish and Wildlife Service

Organizers of the event thank Professor Mindy McDermott and her Chaminade University BI 110 People and Nature students for their huge showing at the event. 

“I’m very excited about the future plans to restore areas of Ka'ena Point.  Fun!” - Dawn Bruns, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Flyer for the event

Kaʻena Point Community Wildfire Preparedness Day

Creating defensible space around the baseyard. Credit: Dawn Bruns / US Fish and Wildlife Service.

“Did you know that 9 out of 10 wildfire are caused by people and could have been prevented? In fact, wildland fires consume hundreds of homes across the nation annually, and Hawaii is at a similar risk.”

Touring the site of the recent burn.

As part of National Community Wildfire Preparedness Day on May 6 (and a month of activities the rest of the month of May), DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) and Division of State Parks (DSP) co-sponsored a volunteer event at Kaʻena State Park. Jaime Raduenzel of RCUH-PCSU, DLNR DOFAW and DSP, and Dietra Myers Tremblay of DLNR DOFAW gave presentations to enlighten volunteers about fire protection resources, wildfire readiness, invasive vegetation that fuels wildfires, and drought-tolerant Firewise plants. The volunteers also had the opportunity to take a tour of the site, “a sacred and fragile coastal dune ecosystem, home to many native coastal plants and animals that could not be found anywhere else in the world.” They then created defensible space around the perimeter of the new Kaʻena Point Baseyard and hiked out to a recent burn. 

Organizers of the event thank Professor Mindy McDermott and her Chaminade University BI 110 People and Nature students for their huge showing at the event. 

“I’m very excited about the future plans to restore areas of Ka'ena Point.  Fun!” - Dawn Bruns, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Flyer for the event courtesy of DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife and Hawaiʻi State Parks.

Hawaiʻi Environmental Court Workshop

Judge Larry Potter stresses the importance of building community collaboration to solve our environmental issues.

You might first be asking, what is the Hawaiʻi Environmental Court? Hawaii has once again taking another major step in leading the country in environmental protection by forming the court as a way to “ensure the fair, consistent, and effective resolution of cases involving the environment,” as quoted by Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald. The court is only the second in the nation, behind Vermont’s, which implemented theirs in 1990. 

On April 25, Keep the Hawaiian Islands Beautiful, a chapter of Keep America Beautiful, worked with their partners to hold a Hawaiʻi Environmental Court Workshop for the City and County of Honolulu. The workshop was focuses on “Debris, Illegal Dumping and Community Environment Enforcement.” The keynote speaker was Judge Larry Potter from Shelby County Tennessee, who is a legend in the environmental law field. HWMO had the honor of speaking at this event that hosted fifty people, many of whom were students at the University of Hawaiʻi William S. Richardson School of Law. HWMO’s Pablo Beimler made the connection, during his presentation, between illegal green waste dumping and vehicular abandonment to added wildfire risk on the islands. We thank Keep the Hawaiian Islands Beautiful for the opportunity to share during this special occasion.