Kaʻū News Briefs Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023

PĀHALA AND VOLCANO ARE ON A STATE MAP FOR WILDFIRE PREVENTION through vegetative management. The October edition of Environment Hawai'i displays the map and reviews efforts to reduce fire risk. Pāhala and Volcano are shown on the map in an orange area of concern, with the rest of Kaʻū shown in yellow, a color of lesser concern in terms of the Vegetative Management Planning Area.
    The story by Patricia Tummons gives a headline with opinion: For Years, Scientists Predicted Increase in Wildfires; They were largely ignored.
    The story leads with a quote from a fire captain, Jeremie Makepa of Kaua'i, who said, "People of Hawai'i do a great job of coming together after these disasters." Referring to to the recent Maui conflagrations, he said, "We don't do very well before them. We do a lot of stuff in defense.... We don't do enough to be pro-active." Makepa spoke during the recent Pacific Fire Exchange webinar, hosted by University of Hawai'i at Manoa and Hawai'i Wildfire Management Organization. The organization helped form 'Aina Alliance which launched a "wide-ranging fire-hazard reduction project on nearly 500 acres of Hawaiian Home Lands at Anahola, involving trash removal, fuel load reduction and building firebreaks," according to the Environment Hawai'i story.
    The story also refers such measures on Hawai'i Island, pointing to a two-mile firebreak along Highway 19, which links the towns of Waimea and Kawaihae. The firebreak was created by a consortium of organizations, including Forest Solutions, Queen Emma Land Co. and Parker Ranch, according to Robbie Justice who works for Forest Solutions and spoke at the webinar.    Environment Hawai'i

reports, "The efforts of Justice and Makepa and dozens of other landowners, communities, and groups across the state owe much to Hawai'i Wildfire Management Organization, which for years has found grants and fostered alliances that, it is hoped, mitigate or reduce the effects of wildfire.
    "One of the organization’s fire-pre-emptive projects is advising communities on how residents can reduce wildfire risks and earn 'Firewise' designation from the National Fire Protection Association. Across the state, 14 communities or neighborhoods have earned Firewise status, with five more either pending renewal or in still completing the process. Three of the communities are in Maui: Launiupoko (near Lahaina), Kahikinui (on the dry south side of the island), and Waiohuli (in the Kula area), all of them having earned Firewise status in 2016. 

`Aina Alliance launched a cleanup of 500 coastal acres, in  part, to prevent wildfires. Photo from 'Aina Alliance

   "On the Big Island, several of the Hawaiʻi island Firewise communities were near the August fires, including some of those under evacuation orders. None of the homes in any of the Firewise areas were burned."
    The Environment Hawai'i story reports that "Several years ago, Hawai'i Wildfire Management Organization undertook a rapid mapping assessment of all the inhabited Hawaiian islands except Niʻihau, looking at wildfire hazards and fuel reduction efforts and developing lists of priorities to reduce the likelihood of wildfires or mitigate the damage from them. Across the board, HWMO found policies and funding related to fire infrastructure and vegetation management were insufficient. Participants in the island-specific planning workshops 'overwhelmingly' identified as their top priority the need for the Legislature to create a program providing 'consistent funding for projects on a longer-term basis that are reflective of Hawaiʻi’s multiple growing seasons.'”    The story concludes by noting that "In the 2023 session, the Legislature failed to approve s measure that would have allowed the Division of Forestry and Wildlife to establish a community fuels reduction project." See the rest of the story with explanations on the reason for killing the funding at https://www.environment-hawaii.org/?p=15396