Months before the recent fires in Maui, the question of Hawaii Island preparedness became the focus of the Waimea Resilience Hub, a hui of 18 volunteers, and it formed the theme of their upcoming community event.
“Are You Ready?,” the Waimea Fire Prevention and Resilience Fair, takes place on Sat., Sept. 9, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Mana Christian Ohana’s Kahilu Town Hall, across from Kahilu Theatre in Waimea.
“Everyone is invited,” said the Waimea hub’s volunteer chair, Tim Bostock. It’s a free, family-friendly walk-and-talk event featuring more than 25 federal, state and county agencies, and experts in community fire safety and resilience.
“We have two main goals: to encourage everyone in the community to become better prepared and, just as important, even more connected every day and especially in times of emergency,” Bostock said.
Among the timely table presentations will be an opportunity to check out a Starlink connection shared by Vibrant Hawaii and Hawaii Tracker. A Starlink system provides Wi-Fi connectivity via satellite. Several Starlinks have been deployed recently on Maui to provide connectivity for residents stranded without internet access.
Other presenters include Hawaii County Civil Defense, Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization with their Kaleo Pueo mascot along with several of their 10+ South Kohala Firewise community volunteers. Also participating will be Hawaii County Community Policing with Keiki ID, the Waimea Community Emergency Response Team, the Kohala-Hamakua Radio Club, Hawaii Island Food Basket, Mala‘ai School Garden, University of Hawaii CTAHR, and Waimea nutritionist Vivienne Aronowitz sharing samplings of healthy shelf-stable food choices.
Joining the more than 25 presenters will be Pohakuloa Training Area and Hawaii County Fire Department with fire fighting and emergency response vehicles, and the Daniel Sayre Memorial Foundation, which recently contributed a new emergency helicopter and another custom-designed off-road tanker, called a Bulldog, to the county fire department.
Information will range from how to prepare a “Go Kit” for emergency evacuations, to how to become a certified member of Waimea’s CERT team. It also will include help applying for an EBT card and updating MedQuest redetermination paperwork.
This event is organized by Waimea Resilience Hub with funding from Vibrant Hawaii and the HAPA Fund of the Hawaii Community Foundation. Organized in 2019 to address emergency preparedness, Waimea hub members initially responded to pandemic priorities by helping distribute masks, PPEs, keiki activity kits, and COVID test kits, and assisted with food distribution and access to technology to support keiki during school closures. The hub has now pivoted back to its original intention of resilience and preparedness for the Waimea community.
WRH is one of more than 35 volunteer hubs across the island in partnership with Vibrant Hawaii to increase community awareness and access to resources that build resilience and preparedness for social vulnerabilities and natural disasters.
To learn more about Waimea Resilience Hub, visit www.waimeahub.org or www.Facebook.com/WaimeaResilienceHub