||| FROM WEST HAWAII TODAY at Request of Orcasonian Reader |||
In the wake of the deadly Maui wildfires and the blazes that damaged properties in West Hawaii, a Waimea-based nonprofit organization is conducting community wildfire risk assessments using home assessors-in-training.
According to the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization, these are not your typical home assessors who determine the value of property. They’re specially trained to conduct free reviews of how safe a property and its structures are from the threat of wildfires.
Those assessments are occurring in communities that are designated “Firewise communities” by Firewise USA, a nationwide program of the National Fire Protection Association, with communities in 37 states.
There currently are 15 Firewise communities in Hawaii, said Nani Barretto, HWMO co-executive director.
The Firewise communities in Hawaii County are: Kailapa, Waimea; Kanehoa Subdivision, Waimea; Kohala By The Sea, Waimea; Kohala Waterfront, Waimea; Puuanahulu; Puukapu Homestead, Waimea; Waialea, Waimea; Waikii Ranch, Waimea; and Waikoloa Village.
In addition, there are three communities going through what Barretto called the “recognition process” of becoming Firewise.
Hawaii Fire Department Chief Kazuo Todd said Firewise communities “gather together and self-enforce rules.”
“There’s never enough fire inspectors to literally go house-to-house, and there’s private property rules and stuff like that. That’s why Firewise exists and why HWMO heads that up,” Todd said.
What happened in Hawaii, and California and Oregon before it, should be another wake-up for all communities. This article from NPR has some good information about prevention that didn’t happen: https://www.npr.org/2023/08/18/1194505306/3-strategies-maui-can-adopt-from-other-states-to-help-prevent-dangerous-wildfire. And here are some tips for every homeowner from FireWise: https://www.nfpa.org/Public-Education/Fire-causes-and-risks/Wildfire/Firewise-USA