Protecting West Maui from wildfires
by Shayna Decker | Aug. 22, 2022
One of my fondest little-kid memories is a beach day spent in Olowalu, West Maui. I can clearly recall, after swimming and playing under the summer sun — sitting on the hot sand with my mom, dad and brother and savoring the last bites of a spam musubi.
Now, I take pride in knowing our company takes extra steps to protect areas like West Maui that are more prone to wildfires through ongoing vegetation management, restoration and prevention efforts.
Throughout the years, Hawaiian Electric has worked with the state’s Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) on Maui to identify specific parts of the island susceptible to wildfires to help with vegetation management and roadside maintenance to act as a firebreaks.
This included recent work where we had crews clear about two miles of invasive shrubs and grass in the remote hillsides above the old Pali Road or Honoapiilani Highway earlier this summer. Part of this work ensured the continued protection of the native nalo meli maoli or yellow-faced bees in the area.
Last October, our company also donated $31,000 to the nonprofit Malama Kahalawai in support of restoring an Olowalu stream corridor with native Hawaiian plants and trees. Funded through the Hawaiian Electric Industries Charitable Foundation (HEICF), the project involves the seeding, propagating, planting and monitoring of hardy and resilient species native to 14-acres of the mauna Kahalawai area or the West Maui mountains.
“Mahalo to Hawaiian Electric for helping us to establish an Olowalu ‘green belt’ of native species one acre at a time in this new and exciting restoration location,” shared Chris Brosius, program manager for Mauna Kahalawai Watershed Partnership. “Our native forests are under great stress from the impacts of invasive species, climate change, drought and fire. Improvements to this Olowalu stream corridor creates a healthier watershed, a more fire-resilient community, and a thriving native ecosystem from mauka to makai.”
In addition to restoration efforts, ongoing prevention is key in wildfire mitigation efforts. To actively monitor and assess drier and hotter weather patterns that contribute to longer wildfire seasons produced by climate change, we installed weather stations at targeted West Maui facilities and plan to incorporate the weather information into our operations.
Moving forward, our company recently proposed additional resilience plans to further strengthen our electrical systems in areas like West Maui to better withstand such severe weather-related disasters. This 5-year action plan will reduce the severity of damage when major events happen and allow service to be restored to our communities more quickly. Such work would strengthen power lines and deploy protection devices to help prevent and respond to wildfires, enhance our vegetation management efforts and harden targeted utility poles that could otherwise significantly impede or delay restoration efforts if compromised.
It gives me comfort knowing that our company is committed to guarding our islands against extreme weather events that are increasing in both frequency and intensity due to climate change. Long-term resilience efforts like this means more families can continue to enjoy special days together making lasting memories on the westside of Maui for generations to come.
Shayna Decker is a communications manager at Hawaiian Electric.
