Better system needed to fight wildland fires

Cross your fingers that no major wildland brush fires break out before the end of June. The state coffers to fight them are bone-dry following last month’s 775-acre fire Puuanahulu fire on Hawaii island, which cost $130,000.

This is the third time in the last six years that the state’s $500,000 firefighting budget was exhausted before the end of the fiscal year, and adding just a few more thousands of dollars won’t solve the problem.

Rather, the state needs to take a more comprehensive approach that could include creating a firefighting team dedicated solely to wildland fire rather than leaning on the 100 or so Division of Forestry and Wildlife employees who have to ditch their day jobs when a blaze ignites.

Such a team could focus on preventive measures, such as suppressing fuel for such fires by clearing brush, shrubs and grasses.

Gov. David Ige is asking lawmakers for $800,000 in his proposed state budget for annual fire suppression next fiscal year. But unfortunately the needs are far greater for battling fires across the more than 1.6 million acres that the state Division of Forestry and Wildlife oversees.

The frequency and size of wildfires has steadily grown in recent decades, and data from a Hawaii Wildfire Managment Organization study show an average of more than 17,000 acres has burned each year over the past decade. A greater percentage of Hawaii is under high risk of wildfire than any other of the 16 westernmost states, which is alarming and underscores why the state can no longer afford to place wildland fire suppression on the back burner.

The deepening drought conditions and a couple of major out-of-season brush fires depleted the budget for firefighting in February. What’s worse, the drought is expected to continue and intensify across the state through the summer, which means chances are high that more wildland fires could ignite.

If that should happen before the fiscal year ends, funds to battle those blazes will have to come from other Division of Forestry and Wildlife programs. Such a diversion of assets should not become an accepted practice.

Further, the division’s firefighting gear and equip-ment are archaic, some dating back to the 1970s.

“It’s so old we have to call Mexico to order parts,” said the division’s fire management officer, Rob Hauff.

To help address that, the state Legislature last year approved $2.5 million for new trucks and off-road equipment and supplies for next year, and $2.2 million for the following year. However, Hauff said, that still leaves the division $5 million short of having fully updated firefighting gear.

In Hawaii, the lack of full-time wildland firefighters or mobile hot-shot teams dedicated to fighting fires in rugged terrain leaves the state vulnerable, since fires can spread quickly.

When a fire in a state wilderness area is reported, the Division of Forestry and Wildlife dispatches employees who manage and protect watersheds, native ecosystems and cultural resources, and handle outdoor recreation.

A wildland firefighting team could improve the division’s initial response.

During down time, the firefighters could cut firebreaks, reduce vegetation and brush, and work with landowners to provide access to water and vehicles to minimize the size of fires and their potential danger.

It would be prudent for the state to explore the development of such a team in the face of a rapidly growing wildfire threat.