Mālama Kula marks third anniversary of wildfires with a community workday on Aug. 8

To mark the three-year anniversary of the Kula fire, the grassroots nonprofit Mālama Kula will host a community work day from 9 a.m. to noon Aug. 8, helping a property that was affected by both the Kula wildfire as well as the Kona Low floods. 

“Even three years after the fire, some affected residents are still struggling with cleanup and getting back on their feet, said Kyle Ellison, Mālama Kula’s executive director and founder of the community-led Kula Hub. 

Online registration is available for the cleanup, and participants will meet at 9 a.m. at the upper parking lot of Kula Marketplace before heading out to the work site.

Participants should bring clothes for working outdoors, sun protection, water and closed-toed shoes. Gloves and hand tools will be provided. 

In addition to monthly Community Work Days, Mālama Kula hosts 32 community events per year, including “Manaʻo on the Mountain” Community Potlucks, “Wine and Wattle” events to remove invasive plant species and monthly “Kula Kūpuna Talk Story” events at Lahaina Brewing Co, Upcountry. 

Since 2023, the organization has worked on 273 properties across Kula. These work events help establish firebreaks and clear gulches and drainages of dead and downed trees. Volunteers provide community green waste drop off sites to help residents establish defensible space and offer curbside green waste pickup for resident Kula kūpuna.

The organization also has piloted programs toward water capture, planted hundreds of native trees to rehabilitate the landscape, and has converted over 3.3 million pounds of hazardous fire fuels into wood chips for erosion mitigation and soil retention, which are donated free of charge to residents.