Gov. Josh Green on Friday used the occasion of Wildfire Awareness Month to update the public on progress being made to return some semblance of normalcy on Maui after wildfires last Aug. 8 killed more than 100 people, displaced thousands in Lahaina and damaged or destroyed seven structures in West Hawaii.
“We are now past the nine-month mark since the tragedy, on Day 276,” Green said. “Most people now have gone through a great deal of recovery and healing, but there are still people wrestling with where they are. Of the initial 3,071 households that were displaced … and then placed into hotel rooms to get their housing, only 605 remain. That means that 80.3% of the households have been able to get into longterm housing. We’re very grateful for that, and we hope that in the coming four to six weeks, the rest of the families will get into longterm housing circumstances.”
Green said Maui County, the state, the Army Corps of Engineers and Federal Emergency Management Agency continue to clear residential lots of debris left behind by the inferno.
“There are 1,502 residential lots on Maui that had to be cleared, and 391 have been cleared and returned to their owners,” he said. “A total of 971 have had the basic clearance finished, but they have to go through the final touches before they go back to families. So they are really accelerating the return of people’s land to those who’ve had their houses burned. Also, we wanted to remind people that we intend to build over 1,000 transitional houses.”
The governor then turned his attention to the prevention of wildfires. With the cooperation of the Legislature his administration has: approved 40 Remote Automatic Weather Stations (RAWS) for deployment around the islands; begun installation, with federal partners, of a total of 80 fire-detection sensors with 24-hour alerting capabilities; revamped siren protocols in conjunction with the counties; and re-established a state fire marshal.
“Over 98% of wildfires in Hawaii are human-caused — many due to campfires, open flames, improper cigarette disposal or equipment malfunction,” Green said. “So please be very careful as we come into wildfire season. It was pointed out to me by my team and my chief of staff that this is going to be a very dry season. … We are not anticipating rain even like we would normally hope to get.
“You want to be able to prevent wildfires by having defensible spaces around your homes. … Have an evacuation plan if a fire occurs, especially if we’re under red flag warnings,” Green continued.
Hiro Toya, director of City and County of Honolulu Emergency Management, compared wildfire season to Hawaii’s hurricane season, which starts June 1.
“What we always say is make a plan, build a kit and stay informed,” Toya said. “I think a lot of the emphasis on the build a kit part has been on building a 14-day kit. And while that is very important for us to continue to do, I do want to encourage everybody to build a ‘go bag.’ And this is a subset of your emergency preparedness kit that you can grab and go very quickly, if you need to evacuate.
“And it’s going to be something lightweight, that you can carry easily for those short-notice emergency situations.”
James Barros, administrator of Hawaii Emergency Management Administration, said the prevention of another wildfire calamity is going to require “a kakou effort” — “kakou” meaning “all of us.”
“Our county partners are vital. The first-responders who stand ready every day, committed and dedicated to secure the safety of our communities,” he said. “Right now, we’re working to refine our mutual-aid system, so that our county and state partners can rapidly support each other. … We are actively engaged with Hawaiian Electric Co. in pursuing active mitigation opportunities so that the state can build more resilient and reliant communities across each county.”
Barros said steps are being taken “to empower communities to become an active member in their preparedness.”
“Communities will be taking significant steps in becoming hurricane-, tsunami- and fire-wise,” he said. “We all call this place home. And as we team up, we can come up with smarter plans to protect our families and communities. It’s about sharing ideas and pooling resources.”
To learn how you can better protect your family, home, yard, and lands, visit the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization website at hawaiiwildfire.org.