Kaʻū News Briefs Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023

A map of the state's largest islands shows Pāhala and Volcano are areas of need for vegetative management. They
are included in a Vegetative Management Planning Area. Map from Environment Hawai‘i

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 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 proactive." Makepa spoke during the recent Pacific Fire Exchange webinar, hosted by University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa 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 is 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

Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park staff members help connect Kaʻū High students to science in the park. 
Photo from Kaʻū High School

SCIENCE AND JOURNALISM STUDENTS FROM KAʻŪ HIGH SCHOOL connected math, chemistry and other science with on-the-ground work and research at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. On Tuesday, they visited the Park's air quality monitoring site and interviewed staff, who work for the park. The students on the field trip are in Beatriz Ramos' Physical Science Class and Chayanee Brooks' Journalism Class.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See latest print edition at kaucalendar.com, in the mail and on stands.

Hawai‘i Wildlife Fund mentors work with Kaʻū High School students. The organization is offering
$500 scholarships to high school students and recent graduates in Kaʻū. Photo from HWF

HAWAI'I WILDLIFE FUND HAS MORE SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE. At $500 per student, they are

for high school juniors, seniors, and recent graduates in Kaʻū. The application form is relatively simple, requiring submission of a one-page essay (400-500 words recommended) focusing on a favorite native wildlife species (plant or animal) that lives in or transits through Kaʻū. Bonus points are given for recommending how individuals can help protect favorite wildlife species, and why the plant or animal is important to Hawaiʻi.

    Applicants can be pursuing any career or college pathway they desire. It is recommended to include any connections that might exist between favored species and future career goal, according to Hawai‘i Wildlife Fund.
    Learn more about the HWF Kaʻū Wildlife Scholarship here: https://www.wildhawaii.org/kau-wildlife-scholarship/.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See latest print edition at kaucalendar.com, in the mail and on stands.

HPD ARRESTED 21 FOR DUI during the week of Sept. 25 through Oct. 1. Hawai‘i Island police made the arrest for driving under the influence of an intoxicant. Five of the drivers were involved in a traffic collision. Three were under the age of 21.
    So far this year, there have been 725 DUI arrests compared with 746 during the same period last year, a decrease of 2.7 percent.

   Hawai‘i Police Department’s Traffic Services Section reviewed all updated crashes and found 627 major collisions so far this year compared with 619 during the same period last year, an increase of 1.3 percent.
    To date, there have been 13 fatal crashes, resulting in 14 fatalities, (one of which had multiple deaths); compared with 25 fatal crashes, resulting in 27 fatalities (one of which had multiple deaths, and one was reclassified to a medical condition) for the same time last year. This represents a decrease of 48 percent for fatal crashes, and 48.1 percent for fatalities.
    To date, the non-traffic fatality count (not on a public roadway) so far this year is one compared to zero non-traffic fatalities for the same time last year.
Police promise that DUI roadblocks and patrols will continue island-wide.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See latest print edition at kaucalendar.com, in the mail and on stands.