Funding awarded to wildfire mitigation projects across Hawaiian Islands

Three organizations on the Big Island were among eight across the five main Hawaiian Islands awarded $1.8 million through the 2026 Hawaiʻi Urban Interface 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, awarded funding to projects on Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Maui and Hawaiʻi Island, an increase from the $1.5 million awarded through the program in 2025, according to a news release from the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

“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.”

Projects awarded funding on Hawai‘i Island include:

• Kailapa Community Association was awarded $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 was awarded $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 was awarded $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.

“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.”

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