The public is invited until April 30 to give input to Hawaii County to help identify potential wildfire risks and opportunities for preparation and prevention in the Waikoloa Village area.
This input, which will include a virtual public meeting on Wednesday, will help guide the Waikoloa Village Traffic Study, part of an amendment to the Community Development Block Grant Mitigation Action Plan that outlines the county’s response to emergencies like flooding and fires.
The traffic study will be assessing potential wildfire risks, determining the best evacuation routes, outlining the best ways to give first responders access into disaster zones while freely allowing residents to evacuate, and identifying who and where the most vulnerable members of the population are and how they can be best assisted.
“Our biggest concerns going forward, as we saw with Lahaina, are regarding extreme weather,” said James Hustace, County Council member representing District 9, adding that he was happy to see siren towers being placed in Waikoloa.
Chief Kazuo Todd of the Hawaii Fire Department echoed the value of the siren system, but emphasized the importance of updating how emergency information is disseminated. Television and radio have historically provided disaster information, but with the advent of streaming, “the ability to communicate with people is different now, and the government has to adapt to that,” Todd said.
Both Todd and Hustace also stressed the importance of community preparedness, which includes mitigation through land management like maintaining or removing large kiawe or albizia trees and invasive vegetation like fountain grass, as well as utilizing fire-resistant building materials around individual properties.
“The wind can push embers for miles,” Todd said. “The concept now is less about having a shield around the perimeter of the community, and more about herd immunity.”
Hustace encouraged residents and business owners in Waikoloa Village to utilize the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization for guidance in land management as well as a free assessment of their properties to identify any potential risks.
Todd also said “land banking” by property owners sitting on unused land for investment purposes, or who claim to be using it for agriculture while growing “nothing but flammable weeds,” needs to be better managed by the state and federal governments through laws and enforcement of regulations to mitigate potential fire hazards.
Hustace said the public feedback will illuminate how to best assist the most vulnerable populations, including “our elderly that maybe have oxygen tanks or need energy to keep things going in house or don’t have car or (their) families are away.”
“With the elementary and middle school in the middle of the community, we need to look at the potential bottlenecks that makes in making sure the keiki are safely evacuated and families reconnected,” he added. “In every residential community, bottlenecks are inherent with limited infrastructure, especially in the north end of the village where it will take longer get out.”
The study welcomes public input about how traffic patterns and future growth in the population of the area could impact evacuation routes, Hustace said.
“We have access through Waikoloa Road, which is the main thoroughfare for residents and businesses in Waikoloa. If evacuation is needed, residents can evacuate makai or mauka on that road,” he said of current evacuation opportunities.
Residents also have the evacuation route on Hulu Street, a single-lane road the county maintains for disaster escape purposes, but Hustace said that as the population of Waikoloa steadily increases, the infrastructure of the area needs to grow in tandem, which is another topic the public can offer comment on through the traffic study.
“There are ongoing conversations about establishing permanent arterial road for Waikoloa Village,” he said. “If we don’t have any changes, how is that going to be affected when we add more housing? I hope that (information collected through the study) reflects the needs for more infrastructure to match the growth of the community.”
The traffic study is being funded as part of a $6.8 million grant for hazard mitigation projects the county received from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant Mitigation program.
The $420,000 specified for the traffic study, which includes the public comment period, originally was meant to support a revision of the county’s rezoning and subdivision codes, which ultimately received funding through other sources, Hustace said.
Todd explained that, though the Big Island has “fewer firefighters paid per station than Kauai” due to chronic underfunding, his department partners with variousother state and federal agencies, including Pohakuloa Training Area, when responding to emergencies.
Todd said he hopes the public comment period for the study will elevate the community’s “general awareness and willingness to recognize that everyone has a part in this.” He said this is why he’s always eager to advocate for the needs of partner fire responders outside of his own department, and hopes the community can look at their own fire response the same way.
“It behooves me to take care of the people around me, because then they take care of me,” Todd said. “We’re not just a bunch of boats sailing in the same direction — we’re all in one boat.”
More information about the Community Development Block Grant Mitigation Action Plan and the proposed amendment can also be found by visiting www.planning.hawaiicount.gov/general-plan-community-planning/cdbg-mit.
The virtual public meeting on Wednesday can be attended via Zoom at www.zoomgov.com/j/1612916125.
The public can submit comments by email at cdbgmit@hawaiicounty.gov, or comments can be mailed or dropped off to 101 Pauahi St., Suite 3, Hilo, HI 96720 or 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, #E, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740.
Email Kyveli Diener at kdiener@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
