7/29/26 – $1.8 MILLION AWARDED FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION PROJECTS ACROSS HAWAIʻI

$1.8 MILLION AWARDED FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION PROJECTS ACROSS HAWAIʻI

HONOLULU - Eight organizations across five islands have been awarded $1.8 million through the 2026 Hawaiʻi Urban Interface (HUI) Wildfire Grant Program to reduce hazardous fuels, improve evacuation planning, strengthen preparedness and increase wildfire resilience.

The Hawaiʻi Wildfire Management Organization, in partnership with the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DLNR DOFAW), awarded $1.8 million to projects on Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Maui and Hawaiʻi Island, an increase from the $1.5 million awarded through the program in 2025.

"Wildfire risk looks different in every community and these projects reflect that," said Nani Barretto, co-executive director of Hawaiʻi Wildfire Management Organization. "This funding allows organizations to address the specific risks facing their landscapes while protecting residents, homes, cultural resources and critical evacuation routes."

"These organizations understand their landscapes and the challenges their communities face," said DLNR DOFAW State Protection Forester Michael Walker. "These grants help move high-impact, shovel-ready mitigation projects from planning into action."

The 2026 awardees are:

Kauaʻi

ʻĀina Alliance: $300,000
ʻĀina Alliance will launch the Anahola Community Action Teams initiative, a pre-disaster preparedness model that combines community coordination with on-the-ground wildfire mitigation. Work will include firebreak construction, vegetation management and grazing-based fuel reduction.

Oʻahu

Mālama Learning Center: $298,828
Mālama Learning Center will remove invasive, fire-prone vegetation, establish fuel breaks and green firebreaks, improve emergency access and expand wildfire education across several Leeward Oʻahu sites. The project will also support Firewise USA® recognition for Pālehua.

Waialae Iki Ridge and Waialae Iki V: $47,588
The neighboring communities will complete a wildfire hazard and evacuation assessment for approximately 924 residential lots that share a primary evacuation route. The project will evaluate fire behavior, traffic capacity, evacuation timing and future mitigation priorities.

Molokaʻi

ʻĀina Momona: $228,584
ʻĀina Momona will expand wildfire mitigation and land restoration across 60 acres in the uplands of the Kaʻamola ahupuaʻa. Native Hawaiian land stewards will remove invasive vegetation, install fencing and irrigation, outplant native species and expand retention basins.

Maui

Waiohuli Hawaiian Homesteaders Association: $300,000
The association will reduce hazardous fuels along the perimeter of the Waiohuli community and support residents in clearing vegetation within high-risk homestead parcels. The project will connect household defensible-space efforts with broader perimeter treatments.

Hawaiʻi Island

Kailapa Community Association: $300,000
Kailapa will establish a managed grazing system across approximately 320 acres. New fencing and paddocks will support livestock grazing to reduce hazardous vegetation and create defensible space for Kailapa and nearby communities.

Wailea Property Owners Association: $25,000
The association will reduce tall, dry grass and remove lower growth and ladder fuels from kiawe trees near the community. The work is intended to reduce wildfire intensity and protect residents, homes and first responders.

West Kohala Wildfire Alliance: $300,000
Representing six Firewise USA® communities, the alliance will reduce hazardous fuels and improve emergency access across West Kohala. The project will use manual clearing, mechanical vegetation management and managed grazing along community boundaries, roadways and evacuation routes.

The Hawaiʻi Urban Interface Wildfire Grant Program supports projects that reduce hazardous fuels, improve defensible space and emergency access, strengthen preparedness and advance practical wildfire mitigation throughout Hawaiʻi.

For more information about the 2026 awardees, visit hwmo.org/huigrant2026.

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RESOURCES

(All images/video courtesy: HWMO)

Photographs - Wildfire Mitigation Projects Across Hawaiʻi (various):

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/xo13w9l9y9cyzg1qvhomv/AHgqbfk9ZkZ8OQBcgHigl7U?rlkey=wzjjl2algmci86g70qhdfmn7o&st=j2y1tog1&dl=0

Media contacts:

Andrew Laurence

Communications Director

State of Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources

Phone: 808-587-0396

E-mail: [email protected]

Jen Myers

Communications and Outreach Manager

Hawaiʻi Wildfire Management Organization

Email: [email protected]