Hawaiian Electric helps fund nonprofit’s Firewise wildfire prevention outreach

Hawaiian Electric has partnered with Hawaiʻi Wildfire Management Organization to fund critical Firewise coordinator positions to support statewide wildfire prevention efforts.

The first $50,000 of a $260,000 commitment was recently paid to the wildfire management organization, a Hawaiʻi Island-based nonprofit overseeing 31 Firewise communities in three counties. The organization administers the national Firewise USA program, helping communities reduce wildfire risks and strengthen home ignition resistance.

“Our support of Hawaiʻi Wildfire Management Organization is a valuable investment in
strengthening community resilience across the five islands Hawaiian Electric serves,” said Kurt Tsue, Hawaiian Electric director of community affairs. “Getting behind HWMO’s community-
driven wildfire mitigation efforts is critical as we work in parallel to upgrade our infrastructure to reduce the risk of ignition and protect our customers and communities.”

Last week, the organization hosted the Hawaiʻi Wildfire Summit in Kona. During the Hawaiian Electric-sponsored event, more than 260 attendees collaborated on wildfire prevention strategies.

HWMO Co-executive Director Nani Barretto said Firewise communities are rapidly expanding. She said 15 were onboarded in the decade before the Maui wildfires, while another 15 joined in just 10 months after.

“As of last week, we have 31 nationally recognized sites across three counties and another 13
in the application process,” she said.

With federal grants ending, local funding from Hawaiian Electric and others is helping sustain HWMO’s mission. Firewise coordinators play a key role in guiding communities on risk-reduction projects, providing technical support and encouraging collaboration.

In October, the organization completed a community hazard assessment at the Villages of Leialiʻi in Lahaina, 14 months after wildfires killed at least 102 people and destroyed more than 2,000 structures, mostly homes. The Villages of Leialiʻi lost two of its 104 residential lots.

Shelly Aina of the Waikōloa Village Association Firewise Committee, which has maintained its
Firewise designation since 2016, said the funding that local entities provide to HWMO is
invaluable. “The more they have, the more we have,” Aina said.
“We did a big fuel mitigation project,” Aina said, adding HWMO was pivotal in helping the
committee come up with a plan to clear a fuel break last year. “It all goes back to HWMO,” Aina said.

For more information about the organization’s programs, visit here.