Program Offers Funding to Battle Wildfires

Each year wildfires burn thousands of acres of land in Hawai‘i impacting communities and natural resources. Dealing with serious fire threats to human safety, infrastructure, native ecosystems and wildlife, agricultural production, watersheds, and more, can leave both rural and urban communities overwhelmed.

The Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG) Program is offering funding to assist communities to prevent, plan, and mitigate for wildfire risks.

Grants prioritize communities in areas identified as having high or very high wildfire hazard potential, are low-income, and/or have been impacted by a severe disaster. The application window is open through Oct. 7.

The CWDG Program is anchored in the three goals of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy:

Restore and Maintain Landscapes: Landscapes across all jurisdictions are resilient to fire-related disturbances, in accordance with management objectives.

Create Fire-Adapted Communities: Human populations and infrastructure can withstand a wildfire without loss of life and property.

Improve Wildfire Response: All jurisdictions participate in making and implementing safe, effective, efficient risk-based wildfire management decisions.

The grants are intended to help at-risk communities become better prepared and more resilient to wildfire risks. For Hawai‘i, where over the past decade greater than 1,000 wildfires have burned an average of more than 17,000-acres each year, and where the wildfire season is year-round, this opportunity can help communities across the state.

Applicants can contact Michael Walker at michael.j.walker@hawaii.gov for more information.