Toward a Firewise Community: Follow the Lead of Kohala by the Sea

By Denise Laitinen

Kohala by the Sea is the little community that could.

This group of Hawai‘i Island residents has achieved a status reached by few communities in the entire country: they’re part of the nationally recognized Firewise Communities program. For 10 years, the small neighborhood nestled along the Kohala Coast has worked diligently to reduce its risk to wildfire.

Part of the National Wildland Urban Interface Fire Program since 1987, Firewise has educated and encouraged action to minimize home loss to fire in the wildland urban interface, which is anywhere wildlands and houses meet (meaning a good portion of Hawai‘i).

It’s a collaborative effort of multiple organizations across the country, including fire departments, government agencies, and community groups working together to teach people how to prepare for a wildfire before it occurs.

The Firewise program is multifaceted, providing free resources and training for firefighters, community developers, as well as homeowners. Neighbors who want to work together to reduce their community’s risk to wildfire can participate in the five-step Firewise Communities/USA Recognition Program.

To become part of the national Firewise recognition program, communities must:

• Form a Firewise committee or working group.
• Have a Firewise wildland fire hazard assessment conducted for their community that identifies wildfire threats.
• Implement a community project that will reduce wildfire threats in their community.
• Contribute $2 per resident to the wildfire project, which can include volunteer time.
• Hold an annual community fire education event.
• Submit a report to Firewise of work they’ve accomplished that year.

It all started for Kohala by the Sea in 2003 when Sharon Cislo and her husband Randy, a dentist in Waimea, attended a Firewise workshop in Waikoloa.

Sharon and Randy had never heard of Firewise and certainly didn’t consider themselves to be trailblazers in their community; they just knew that wildfires were a threat to their neighborhood.

Indeed, that particular coastal region receives less than 10 inches of rainfall a year and is surrounded by thousands of acres of intermixed flammable grasses. The district also has a history of wildfire. In October 1993, a wildfire destroyed six structures in the subdivision adjacent to Kohala by the Sea.

“We had seen wildfires north of us before and knew that they can move fast and furious,” says Sharon. “Having seen the flames of nearby wildfires, we knew we had to take action and find ways to protect our home.”

After attending the Firewise workshop in Waikoloa, Sharon asked the Firewise Communities Hawai‘i Coordinator to give a talk in her community. At the time, the 77-acre community was just being developed, and less than a dozen families lived in Kohala by The Sea.

Although small in size—the subdivision contains only 77 home sites—the residents wanted to make sure they took every precaution possible to protect their community. They were also concerned about a gulch filled with flammable trees and overgrown brush that ran through the heart of their neighborhood.

An informal group of neighbors met with local fire officials on a Friday afternoon over pūpū and refreshments at the Cislo’s home. Before the evening was done, area residents decided to form a Firewise committee and had decided upon their first community project: improving a secondary emergency evacuation route.

The Firewise committee started meeting regularly. The Firewise Communities Hawai‘i Coordinator conducted a wildfire hazard assessment of the community and identified ways the community could further reduce their wildfire risk.

Fabio Franzo, a landscape architect, was one of the founding members of the Kohala by the Sea Firewise Committee. Using free educational materials he received from the Firewise program such as landscaping and construction checklists, Fabio created info packets that he personally distributed to every resident in the small community.

Property owners who owned lots and had yet to build their homes received info packets in the mail. The design committee of the community’s homeowners association distributed free Firewise videos on how to build a home using fire-resistant building materials. Community members attended a free Firewise workshop to learn simple and easy steps they could take to protect their homes from wildfire.

“It just seemed like such a smart thing to do,” explains Cislo. “Our community was so small at the time that it was easy get everyone involved.”

Spurred by their initial success, the community kept up their efforts year after year, installing a wildfire danger rating sign and information board at the entrance to the community, tackling brush abatement, and planting native Hawaiian plants with high moisture content. The annual Firewise community workday has become a tradition within the small community and often involves local fire personnel.

“I remember the first few Firewise workdays we had, and everyone worked so hard clearing kiawe and brush,” says Sharon. “During the Firewise workdays, the firefighters from South Kohala station would visit and give us demonstrations on how to use fire hoses and such. Every year was something different. One year we learned how to use the hoses, another year we had a contest to see who could get dressed in the firefighter suit the fastest.”

“When we were done we would go to someone’s house and have a potluck dinner. We’re a small community where the neighbors really care about each other.”

The amazing thing is that the Kohala community has kept up their wildfire prevention efforts every year for 10 straight years. In order to maintain their national Firewise recognition status, the Firewise committee and the community as a whole has had to complete the same steps every year. Over the years, the Firewise committee members have changed. For instance, Sharon and her husband moved to a nearby subdivision. Yet the committee remains steadfast in its efforts to reduce the community’s risk to wildfire.

“The community remains active today and is a shining example of what great things people can do when they join together for a common cause,” says Michele Steinberg, Wildland Fire Projects Manager for the National Fire Protection Association, the organization which co-founded the Firewise program.

Debra McCarthy, current president of the Kohala by the Sea Firewise committee, can point to some impressive statistics accomplished by the community working together.

The neighborhood Firewise Committee improved an emergency evacuation route and built a covered wildfire danger community bulletin board. Strict design rules are in place that require homebuilders to use fire-resistant roof material and encourage the use of stucco and other fire-resistant building materials.

In 2008, four years after receiving their initial Firewise recognition status, residents volunteered more than 150 hours of volunteer services to wildfire prevention efforts.

In conjunction with their annual community workdays, the group has received federal grants to remove overgrown brush from the gulch running through the community and planted plants with high moisture content along interior roads within the subdivision.

Since 2010, community residents have donated more than $14,000 in goods and volunteer labor for various wildfire prevention projects.

Last year, the Kohala by the Sea Firewise Committee launched an updated Fire Automated Call Procedure ensuring all homeowners had easy-to-use instructions on getting the word to the community about a fire in the area. All new owners receive Firewise materials in their community welcome package, and Firewise assessments are performed for new owners.

This year, the Firewise committee held their annual Firewise community workday on May 3 to coincide with the first-ever national Wildfire Preparedness Day during which hundreds of communities nationwide simultaneously partook in wildfire prevention projects.

Today, there are more than 1,000 nationally recognized Firewise communities across the country. However, Kohala by the Sea is one of only 34 communities nationwide that have maintained their Firewise status for 10 straight years.

In addition to receiving a crystal statue from the national Firewise program in recognition of their efforts, the Firewise Committee received proclamations from State Representative Cindy Evans, Governor Neil Abercrombie, and Mayor Billy Kenoi. And in March a special ceremony was held at the West Hawai‘i Civic Center during which time the Hawai‘i County Council recognized the group for their efforts.

“The Hawai‘i Fire Department is proud of the Kohala by the Sea community for achieving national Firewise recognition for their efforts to protect their communities from the potential devastating effects of wildfires,” says Hawai‘i Fire Department Chief Darren Rosario.

“It’s important for communities to become Firewise for several reasons, the most important of which is that the effects of weather on a wildfire can overwhelm even the most prepared fire departments. A large fast-moving wildfire may escape the fire suppression efforts of the fire department. All that stands in the way of the fire and your home is a Firewise protected property,” the Fire Chief says.

Kohala by the Sea community and its neighbors were victims of serious fires in the early 1990s.

“It’s with their effort to be Firewise that I can proudly say as Fire Chief it has made a difference,” adds Darren.

Perhaps former Firewise committee president Diana Bonnici summed it up best. Speaking a few years ago after a wildfire had once again threatened the community, she said residents weren’t scared because they knew they had done everything possible to reduce their collective and individual risk to wildfire.

And that’s what being Firewise is all about. ❖

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To learn more about wildfire safety or the Firewise Communities program: Firewise.org, Facebook.com/firewisecommunitieshawaii, @Firewisehawaii on Twitter

Contact the Firewise Communities Hawai‘i Coordinator: 808.281.3497

Firewise Communities Hawai‘i wildfire safety videos: Youtube.com/channel/UC8ec9QRXHA-6gqyzlKcO9Jw

Contact writer Denise Laitinen: wahineokekai@yahoo.com

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Firewise Tips to Create Defensible Space around your Home

• Prune shrubs and trees so the lowest branches are 6 to 10 feet off the ground to prevent fire traveling from the ground to the tree tops.
• Remove dead leaves and plant material from around your home.
• Plant vegetation with high-moisture content or plants native to your area.
• Make sure plants closest to the house are low to the ground.

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Fire Safety Tips

National Fire Prevention Week is October 5 to 11 and this year’s theme is “Working Smoking Alarms Save Lives.” Here are some fire safety tips from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA):

1. Make sure you have working smoke alarms in every bedroom of your home and the main living area.
2. Test smoke alarms at least once a month using the test button.
3. Replace the batteries in your smoke alarm at least once a year. If you purchase a smoke alarm with a non-replaceable battery (i.e. a long-life battery) and it starts to chirp, replace the entire smoke alarm right away.
4. Replace all smoke alarms after 10 years.

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Emergency Steps to Follow if a Wildfire is Approaching your House

1. Call 911.
2. Close all entrances, windows, and other openings. Close shutters, heavy drapes, blinds, or other window coverings. This action is recommended to prevent sparks from blowing inside your house and igniting there.
3. Turn off residential fuel. If you use gas or butane, turn it off at the tank or meter.
4. Dress to protect yourself. Wear cotton clothing including long pants, long sleeved shirt, gloves, and a handkerchief to protect your face.
5. Have tools and water accessible: Have a ladder, shovel, rake, and long water hose available. Fill buckets and other bulk containers with water.
6. Wet down the roof. If your roof can burn, wet it down with a hose.
7. Prepare your vehicles. Back as many vehicles as possible into your garage so that if an evacuation were necessary, it would be easier. In the event you evacuate, close the garage door behind you as you leave in order to contain the fire. If you do not have a garage or if it is full, park vehicles so they are heading in the direction of the evacuation route.
8. EVACUATE THE FAMILY. If evacuation becomes necessary, take your family and pets to a safe location.

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About the Writer and Firewise Communities’ Hawai’i Coordinator

Here at Ke Ola Magazine the incredibly talented people that call Hawai‘i Island home constantly amaze us. In fact, we started this magazine to showcase the people, life, and land of our island paradise. And yet, sometimes those talented folks are right under our very noses and we don’t even realize it!

We knew Denise was involved in “fire stuff,” yet had no idea the extent of her expertise or her trailblazing efforts to bring wildfire safety education and awareness to the state of Hawai‘i.

After Denise left Maui to be with family on the east coast in the 1990s, she began working for the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) managing their award-winning national magazine, NFPA Journal. During her tenure, Denise was frequently asked to represent the organization at events throughout Asia and travelled to Japan, China, and Singapore to interview fire service and civil defense leaders and report on best practices.

NFPA is the same organization that founded the Firewise program, and Denise also spent her time educating the Firewise program staff about the unique wildfire threats facing Hawai‘i, not realizing what it would lead to in the future.

Right around the time that Firewise officials were developing the concept of state coordinators, Denise moved back to Maui. While Hawai‘i fire officials were well aware of the wildfire risks facing our island communities, national fire leaders were less certain.

Working with Hawai‘i forestry officials and national Firewise Program staff, Denise became the first Firewise state coordinator in the country, working at the local level assisting communities in their efforts to reduce their wildfire risk.

Denise works at the grassroots level, providing technical assistance and wildfire education to community groups. Over the years, she’s taught more than two-dozen full day workshops to firefighters and community members and has given presentations at more than 325 community events across Hawai‘i.

Recognizing the unique challenges facing Hawai‘i communities, Denise created several outreach tools, including a Hawaiian word puzzle for fifth graders, a Hawaiian poster on wildfire safety, as well as a video on wildfire safety she wrote and produced with the Maui Fire Department (you can see the video on the Firewise Communities Hawai‘i YouTube channel).

In addition to the being the first Firewise state coordinator, Denise was the first female on Maui to be nationally certified as a wildland arson investigator (origin and cause determination). She was the only non-firefighter and the only female in her class when she became certified as a wildland firefighter.

Denise is active in a variety of fire related and disaster preparedness organizations across Hawai‘i. A member of the Hawaii Fire Chiefs Association, she is a former vice chair of the Maui County Fire and Public Safety Commission and a past member of the Maui Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters. A member of the Big Island Wildfire Coordinating Group—a hui (group) of all country, state, and federal fire related agencies on island—Denise is the longest running Secretary in that organization’s history.

Denise now lives on Hawai‘i Island. In her spare time, she volunteers with the Hawai‘i Chapter of the American Red Cross as a Disaster Assistance Team member and a Disaster Course Instructor.

For her trailblazing efforts in the fire service, Denise was nominated to the 2009 Hawai‘i County Women’s Hall of Fame and was a 2009 Hawai‘i County Woman of the Year nominee.

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