In a bid to enhance community awareness and readiness against wildfires, the County of Maui is set to host a vital meeting in Lahaina focused on fire hazard mitigation. The gathering, open to both residents and stakeholders, is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on June 16, at the Princess Nāhiʻenaʻena Elementary School cafeteria. Key issues for discussion include evacuation modeling, wildfire hazard mitigation, and individual defensible space inspections, as reported by the County of Maui.
According to a statement from the County of Maui, updates will be shared by the Maui Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) on the tools and strategies to be better prepared for such natural calamities. Representatives from the County's Department of Fire and Public Safety will also lay out fire mitigation strategies, while Hawaiian Electric Co. intends to shed light on its measures to prevent wildfires, including steps to effectively harden utility poles. Moreover, the Hawaiʻi Wildfire Management Organization plans to introduce Firewise communities and the Fire Aside software to help residents carry out defensible space inspections.
This forthcoming meeting serves as both a follow-up and expansion to the presentations and discussions from the previous community meeting held on May 7. During the prior gathering, MEMA Operation Coordination Section Chief Kono Davis had elucidated on the Genasys Protect evacuation management and notification app. Assistant Fire Chief Ryan Otsubo had also charted the department's ongoing plan to mitigate wildfire risks, as stated by the County of Maui.
Ensuring broader accessibility, the June 16 session will not only be physically open to the public but also will be livestreamed on the County of Maui’s Facebook page, which can be accessed regardless of whether one holds an account. For those opting to watch from their homes, there will also be a live transmission on Akakū: Maui Community Media, Channel 53. The aim is to widely disseminate critical information and to robustly engage with community members in safeguarding Lahaina from the ravages of wildfires.
