Hawaii Updates CWPPs to Create Fire Adapted Communities

Our week in the national spotlight continued with this highlight from our partners from the Western Region Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy in their latest newsletter:

From the Source: 

"Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization (HWMO) is holding a series of public meetings to hear concerns and solutions to wildfire issues to incorporate in updates to four Community Wildfire Protection Plans. Ilene Grossman, the CWPP Update project manager said, 'We are updating these plans because they have lost community momentum. The projects and input are outdated, and with predicted drought to follow this current vegetation growth, the fire hazard will likely be very high in the near future.' Read more about the CWPP update process here >.
 
HWMO is also initiating six new CWPPs, so that highest risk communities throughout the state of Hawaii will be covered by a CWPP. Funding for the updates and new CWPPs comes from US Forest Service Wildland Urban Interface grants. To follow through with CWPP prioritized actions, HWMO is hosting Ready, Set, Go! wildfire preparedness workshops and distributing a Hawaii version of the Ready, Set, Go! Wildland Fire Action Guide. Community action teams formed during these efforts are further being supported by HWMO to work toward Firewise Communities/USA designations and Fire Adapted Communities overall goals. For more information, see the HWMO website."

Above: Fire in Puu Anahulu burns near Waikoloa, as viewed from Kohala Mountain Road in Waimea (Kamuela) in mid-November.

Ready, Set, Go! - Department Spotlight - HWMO

Our national partner, Ready, Set, Go! covered HWMO's Wildfire Preparedness Program in their first ever "Department Spotlight" as part of their national newsletter. 

From the Source: 

"A Ready, Set, Go (RSG) member since June 2011, Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization (HWMO) is a support organization dedicated to sharing the wildland fire preparedness message through workshops in collaboration with their community partners: schools, community centers, and their local, state and federal fire-response agencies.

The workshops offered by HWMO and their partners are viewed as a two-step process: an initial workshop and a follow-up workshop."

"'Holding these workshops has been a great way to not only spread the RSG message but to get our organization's name out into the public. Through these workshops, we've forged new partnerships with local entities and community members that will translate into future on-the-ground projects. We've also used these workshops as a way to attract residents to our local CWPP update meetings that we've held after the workshops.'"

Above: Series of Ready, Set, Go! Wildfire Preparedness Workshops put on by HWMO.