LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i Fire Department held a brush fire mitigation meeting Friday morning, reminding large landowners, lessees and other stakeholders of their responsibility in maintaining firebreaks for open fields adjacent to structure. “Landowners have access to resources and equipment
LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i Fire Department held a brush fire mitigation meeting Friday morning, reminding large landowners, lessees and other stakeholders of their responsibility in maintaining firebreaks for open fields adjacent to structure.
“Landowners have access to resources and equipment that can be crucial in keeping lives and property safe in the event of a fire,” KFD Robert Westerman said. “We’ve relied on landowners to assist us in past wildfires, and we want to maintain that relationship with them.”
The meeting, held at the Kaua‘i Civil Defense Emergency Operations Center in Lihu‘e , also gave fire officials an opportunity to take inventory of outside resources available to the department in the event of a large fire, such as manpower, water trucks and other heavy equipment.
Guest speaker Derek Wroe, from the National Weather Service, provided attendees with a forecast of the Kaua‘i fire season. He said Kaua‘i will experience a typical dry, warm summer which may become increasingly dry throughout the fall, thus increasing the chance of wildfires.
KFD has already responded to several wildfires just prior to the start of the summer, including one in Koke‘e that scorched over 200 acres and continues to burn since it began three weeks ago.
A fire reported Thursday near Anahola Homesteads required the assistance of local residents to clear a path for firefighters to get close enough to get the blaze under control.
Despite being close to neighboring homes, the fire was extinguished before it caused structural damage.
“Something as simple as landowners maintaining a firebreak or reservoir makes a huge difference in controlling a wildfire, especially with such a largely agricultural landscape on Kaua‘i,” Westerman said. “We are grateful not only for their compliance, but also for going above and beyond to help us in an emergency, as they so often do.”
Since it can be costly to maintain large agricultural lands, KFD discussed how its Community Wildfire Protection Plan could help.
Kaua‘i’s CWPP was developed in June of 2009 and the purpose of the plan is to identify and prioritize measures that would reduce the risk of wildfires.
Equally as important, a CWPP serves as the main requirement for an organization to apply for a Federal Wildland Urban Interface grant.
The program awards funds to help implement wildfire mitigation projects.
WUI grants are awarded annually and money is divided regionally. Companies large and small, including non-profit organizations and community groups, are eligible to apply, so long as the business or organization is located within a designated CWPP.
Kaua‘i has the only islandwide CWPP in the state. Other islands have only small land areas covered by a CWPP. O‘ahu has none.
“We understand that to implement some of these prevention measures is costly, especially in these difficult economic times,” Westerman said. “We want to encourage stakeholders to apply for the WUI grant and secure federal dollars to help fund their projects. Any organization or group of organizations that receives money will help our island in preventing property damage, and ultimately create a safer community.”
The Kaua‘i CWPP was developed by Denise Laitinen and KFD in collaboration with several stakeholders, including the state Division of Forestry and Wildlife, Kaua‘i Civil Defense Agency, the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, large landowners, farmers and residents.
Visit www.wildahinet.com/fmp/wui1213.htm for more information. Call 241-4985 for a copy of the CWPP.
