Kauai wildfire plan workshops seek community input in Kilauea, Koloa
Kīlauea and Kōloa residents were asked to shape Kauaʻi’s wildfire plan after recent 300-acre flames near Waimea and other brush fires shook the island.
Kauaʻi is asking residents to help draw the next line of defense before the island’s next brush fire turns into a neighborhood emergency. With recent fires above Waimea burning to an estimated 300 acres before containment, and another Kapa‘a blaze requiring help from multiple stations and air support, county planners are using community workshops in Kīlauea and Kōloa to pressure-test evacuation access, defensible-space ideas and fuel-reduction priorities.
The first in-person session was scheduled for Anaina Hou in Kīlauea from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on April 21, followed by a second workshop at the Kōloa Neighborhood Center from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on April 23. A Zoom session was also held April 16 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. for people unable to attend in person. The workshops were rescheduled after earlier cancellations because of inclement weather.
The county says the meetings are part of the Community Wildfire Protection Plan, a living framework for wildfire planning and prevention on Kauaʻi. The current plan was originally completed in 2009, comprehensively updated in 2016, and had its priority projects updated in 2024. It was coordinated by Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization with the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife and funded by the USDA Forest Service.
Input from landowners, residents and other stakeholders is meant to do more than gather opinions. County officials say it will help shape strategies for defensible space, emergency access, fuel reduction efforts, public education and interagency coordination. Kauaʻi Fire Department materials also point to home hardening, a five-foot noncombustible zone around homes and defensible space extending up to 30 feet as part of the broader resilience strategy.
The county says public participation is critical to improving preparedness, reducing wildfire risk and protecting lives, property and natural resources. For residents in Kīlauea, Kōloa, Līhuʻe and other communities watching dry brush season with growing concern, the workshops are intended to turn recent fire scares into a more specific response plan before the next one starts moving uphill.
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