In the wake of last week’s devastating Lahaina fire, Waikoloa Village residents are asking for sirens, new roads, firebreaks and improved communication to avoid a similar catastrophe.
“Waikoloa Village has been referred to as the largest cul-de-sac in the state, if not the nation,” said state Sen. Tim Richards, who represents the area, which is at high risk for wildfires. “You’ve got one way in, one way out, and roughly seven thousand residents. The concern is, if we get cut off, then what?”
Those concerns are being addressed at the state, county and local levels.
The state’s Emergency Management Agency, or HIEMA, has agreed to install at least one siren for the community.
“Almost as long as I’ve been elected, I’ve been pushing for that siren,” Richards said. “But there’s been a delay here, a delay there.”
Hawaii County Civil Defense Administrator Talmadge Magno confirmed Waikoloa might get two sirens, depending on approval.
“At least one is supposed to be installed in the fall, and it’s part of a state program by the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency,” Magno said. “The second one still has to run through County Council approval.”
HIEMA did not respond to questions about when the Waikoloa siren would be active.
At the county level, firebreaks and additional roadways are top priorities.
“The highest priority for us is a secondary roadway,” said Waikoloa Village Association General Manager Roger Whersig. “We’ve been working with the county to try to put in a secondary roadway, which would be an extension of Paniolo Avenue.”
Mayor Mitch Roth confirmed road construction would be handled by a developer.
“The county has been working with multiple landowners and developers who have offered to build such a road as a community benefit,” Roth said in an email. “Some environmental work has already taken place. We’ve asked all agencies to expedite approvals for this much-needed road. Private development could dramatically cut the time it would take to complete such a road, and we are incredibly optimistic of a path forward.”
The Paniolo extension would correspond with a new development on the north side of the village known as Nana Kai, which would cover 867 acres with roughly 1,750 residential units, according to developer Somers West’s website.
“They’re obligated, at some point in construction, to extend Paniolo and then build a connector road down to the highway, which would meet just south of the Puako Beach Drive intersection,” Waikoloa Village Association Board Director Michael Konowicz said, adding he was unaware if an official date for the work had been set.
“It sounds like the road is going to happen soon, but it’s not happening soon enough,” he said. “There’s huge dozers that are used to build firebreaks. Maybe the county can just level where that road will go, so we have an emergency road to use while they build the real road on it.”
The county also manages firebreaks surrounding the village via goats to minimize vegetation and fire risk.
“The firebreaks aren’t adequate,” Konowicz said. “While goats eat grass, they tend to only eat the green grass and leave all the dry invasive grasses alone, so they’re not eating the grass we need them to get rid of.”
Konowicz said the Waikoloa Village Association is also working with ranchers so cattle can graze on the eastern side of the village.
“But that only protects fires coming from east to west, there’s nothing really protecting the west side of the village,” Konowicz said. “There’s no barrier below the village, either, and most of that is because it’s owned by other developers, so the association doesn’t really have much control over the land.”
Communication from the county also is a key concern among residents.
When a fire jumped Mamalahoa Highway in 2021, Waikoloa Village was issued an evacuation notice, and residents tested out the emergency road on Hulu Street.
“That is strictly a one-way evacuation road to help get the population out,” Richards said. “I verified with the county, especially with what we’ve seen going on, that maintenance was taken care of within the last ten days, and it’s in top shape and ready to run.”
But some residents recalled confusion and stress.
“There were a couple of problems,” Konowicz said. “Hawaii police said they heard about the evacuation at the same time as the residents, so they had no time to stage and prepare for traffic.”
The result was bumper to bumper cars on the emergency road as residents tried to turn left on Queen Ka‘ahumanu Avenue amid oncoming traffic.
Konowicz said it took some cars several hours to get out.
He also noted Waikoloa Elementary School buses were intended to help evacuate residents, but miscommunication between the county and school created additional concerns.
“Facilities that are being used to round up evacuees need to be in the loop before the evacuation, and the same goes for the police,” Konowicz said. “There was no plan, and what was executed was done poorly.”
Charlie, who declined to give his last name but has been a Waikoloa Village resident for the past four years, said he and his family had to come to terms with the uncertainty of the situation.
“I think you just have to realize that personal belongings are personal belongings,” he said. “We did make sure that we have copies of things like birth certificates, passports, and other important information in case anything happens. Otherwise, there isn’t too much you can do to truly prepare except being aware.”
Waikoloa Village Association is a Firewise USA community due to its high-risk status for fires. As a result, residents can request home visits for advice on how to improve fire safety thanks to federal grant funding.
Konowicz said he completed an assessment a few weeks ago, and is hopeful more neighbors will do the same.
“An inspector from Hawaii Fire Department and two volunteers from the local Firewise committee came to my home,” he said. “They probably spent about an hour walking around the outside of my home and pointing out areas of concern and things I should keep an eye out for.”
Recommendations ranged from removing branches that were on the ground or hanging over the home, to bringing flammable objects like propane tanks, jugs of gasoline and paint inside to prevent accidental ignitions.
“One thing I really didn’t think about until I had the assessment done were things like seat cushions on patio furniture,” Konowicz said. “The Firewise volunteers pointed out that the foam used in seat cushions is incredibly flammable, and just a little ember blowing by could really get a seat cushion to explode and ignite other furniture and even the house.”
Konowicz said he has recommended the Elima Lani Condominiums in Waikoloa undergo a Firewise assessment as well, and is thinking about policy changes such as banning flammable trees like the Washingtonia Palm or encouraging xeriscaping, or landscaping that requires little to no irrigation that can help prevent fires.
“We need to mourn for the victims, and we need to do whatever we can to help our Maui ohana, but we really need to take this situation and quickly learn from it and quickly implement solutions to mitigate fire risk,” Konowicz said. “If we don’t do that, and we don’t implement change and new ideas right away, it’s almost like those people lost their lives for nothing.”
Email Grant Phillips at gphillips@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
