State and county officials said on Wednesday at a statewide press conference that launched the 2025 Wildfire and Drought LOOKOUT campaign that it took a series of devastating wildfires, including the Lahaina fires of 2023, to get people to pay attention to fire risk.
The result is increased funding, updated equipment, and enhanced monitoring and getting communities, including large land owners to individual residents, involved.
The press conference also brought out that many parts of Hawaii continue to be impacted by prolonged drought conditions that are expected to remain and increase in the near future.
The panel of officials included Genkji Kino, a forecaster in the Honolulu Office of the National Weather Service, Kauai Fire Chief Michael Gibson, Department of Land and Natural Resources Chair Dawn Chang, Mike Walker, the state protection forester with the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife, or DOFAW, Elizabeth Pickett, Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization, or HWMO, and Dan Dennison, the Communications Director for the DLNR. These officials are also part of the 10th Wildfire and Drought LOOKOUT campaign launch for all the islands in Hawaii.
“When I started the job in 2017, DOFAW had a wildfire suppression budget of $600,000,” Walker said. “One fire in California would use that amount in a matter of hours. By 2023, DOFAW was able to get about $4 million for fire suppression.”
During the six-year span from 2017 to 2023, fires on Maui and Hawaii Island, including the deadly Lahaina fires on Aug. 8, 2023, brought Hawaii’s overall lack of funding support for firefighting efforts, suppression, and prevention costs to light.
“Unfortunately, it does really take a tragedy for people to wake up and realize we have a problem and start to address it,” Walker said.
Kauai Fire Chief Michael Gibson who earlier in the day issued a warning about fireworks before the Fourth of July, said the amount of financial support from state and county governments, along with new firefighting apparatus and improved technology is a long list, and it takes years from the time you order a new truck or pumper for them to arrive.
“Fire engines, from the time we order them, take about four years before they’re delivered,” Gibson said. “Brush trucks help us the most because they’re four-wheel drive. Over the past four years, we’ve ordered six new one. By the end of this summer, we expect to finally get our first three.”
The DLNR said this year could see a repeat of severe wildland fire conditions due to increasing drought conditions, particularly in the eastern part of the state where the U.S. Drought Monitor, of June 12, shows extreme drought conditions on the north slopes of Mauna Kea, and a sliver of southeast Hawaii Island. The remainder of the island is experiencing abnormally dry or moderate drought conditions.
Overall, drought is already impacting an estimated 386,000 people across the state.
All of Maui Nui that includes Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Kahoolawe, is in moderate to severe drought. The south sides of Oahu and Kauai, and all of Niihau have abnormally dry conditions.
“We just had the second-driest wet season in the last 30 years,” said Genki Kino, a forecaster in the Honolulu Office of the National Weather Service. “We’re already seeing vegetation dry out, turn brown, and become more receptive to wildfire ignitions. Over the next few months, drier conditions will likely persist with drought conditions widening across the entire state. We urge everyone to be aware of forecasts calling for windy and dry conditions that often lead to elevated fire danger.”
DLNR Chair Dawn Chang also co-leads the state drought council, and echoed the concerns brought up by Kino.
“This is early June and we just saw a fire start here on Kauai last week, a larger fire on Maui just three days ago, and one on Oahu at Schofield Barracks,” Chang said. “As drought conditions intensify, so too will the fire danger. The two go hand-in-hand and this is why, again this year, we continue to encourage water conservation measures — not only for firefighting purposes, but long term for the preservation of fresh drinking water supplies.”
The Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization (HWMO) co-leads the Wildfire and Drought LOOKOUT initiative with the DLNR. It has risen since the 2023 fire events.
“We’ve been on the forefront of providing science-based information, education and outreach about wildfire for the past 25 years,” said Elizabeth Pickett, the HWMO co-executive director. “Until 2023, we flew under the radar, but now many people are energized about protecting the homes and communities from wildfire.”
As an example, the national Firewise USA campaign that HWMO administers, has grown from 14 communities across Hawaii to more than 30 in the application process or already approved.
“Clearly, people are beginning to understand the risks they, their families, and their livelihoods face when wildfires are looming,” Pickett said. “The 2025 Wildfire and Drought LOOKOUT campaign has always been very collaborative with more than 30 partners across the state involved. Sharing information and resources is a critical piece toward making Hawaii more fire safe and aware.”
“The Hawaii Drought Council has dozens of stakeholders, including government agencies, water suppliers, private industry and agricultural interests,” Chang said. “We’re all in this together, and the more we can work together doesn’t mean we can stop natural forces, but it does mean that we can try and not exacerbate the risks of outcomes because we lacked awareness and action.”
Source: The Garden Island
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