Ka‘ū News Briefs, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022

FUNDING TO RESPOND TO WILDFIRES is going to Pohakuloa through state Department of Land & Natural Resources. The appropriation of $2.5 million was announced on Thursday by Congressmen Kai Kahele and Ed Case. The money will help DLNR to support improving Pohakuloa Training Area's response to wildfires. Firefighters from DLNR, Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, PTA and county fire stations from Ka'u and around the island have a pact to help one another when fires break out. The organization is called the Big Island Wildfire Group.

A wildfire that closed off parts of Old Mamalahoa Highway in the O'okala area through Thursday  night. Photo by Hillary Spencer

    “Wildfires pose a significant threat to the safety of lives and property, particularly on Hawaiʻi Island where tens of thousands of acres were destroyed last year during the Mana Road wildfire,” said Kahele.  Case said, “These important funds from the Department of Defense will support the PTA Defense Community Infrastructure Pilot Program and improve wildfire response efforts to help keep our communities safe. Climate change is all too real for those who had to evacuate last year as the Mana Road wildfire, the largest in the history of the Big Island which scorched some 42,000 acres, threatened hundreds of homes in Waikaloa Village, Pū‘u Kapu Hawaiian Homestead and Waikiʻi area. We need to improve the capability to combat wildfires which are predicted to be more frequent and larger due to drought conditions brought on by climate change.”
    Kahele said the federal funding "further demonstrates the DOD’s continuing effort to build key partnerships and resiliency in the communities where they are stationed.” The funds will will be used to construct a new firefighting and conservation warehouse to improve wildfire response and enable the maintenance and repair of firefighting vehicles. 

Investment in Pohakuloa Fire Department will help communities fight fires as far away as Ka'u in a cooperative agreement between  fire departments around the island. Photo from Pohakuloa Fire Dept.

    The U.S. Army Garrison’s PTA is a member of the Big Island Wildfire Group and agrees to team up with local, state and other federal firefighting units, and when called upon can dispatch dozens of pieces of apparatus, aircraft and firefighters to take on wildfires. Case said the funding comes from programs administered by the DOD to support state and local governments to respond to base closures, base restructuring or realignment, growth issues affecting land and air use for military bases and nearby communities and other issues that can impact the economy of a region. Case, a member of the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations, said he is calling on Congress to provide $298 million in grants next year for the Defense Community Investment Program, another DOD initiative that supports public schools on military bases. “This is another Defense Department program that is critical to ensure that the military is a good partner with local communities and will also help to ensure the quality of life for our troops,” said Case. “For us in Hawai‘i, investing in communities around military bases.