FEMA to reimburse Hawai’i County $1.2 million for expenses fighting 2021 Mana Road fire

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has authorized $1.2 million in reimbursement to the Hawaiʻi County Fire Department for expenses incurred in fighting the largest brushfire on record on the Big Island, according to a FEMA news release issued today.

The 2021 Mana Road fire in Waimea started on July 30, 2021 and burned more than 40,000 acres of state and private land, including the Parker Ranch, over several days. It destroyed two homes in the Department of Hawaiian Homelands Pu’ukapu Subdivision. It also led to the county issuing mandatory evacuation orders for 440 residents in three communities, according to a FEMA news release.

The Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency assisted with securing federal reimbursement for Hawai‘i County as part of the multi-agency response to the fire that burned along Old Saddle Road on the slopes of Mauna Kea.

FEMA last month formally authorized reimbursement of about $886,000 through a Fire Management Assistance Grant. The amount represents 75% of the total expense and restores local government funds that were expended during the fire response.

The grant funding covers costs such as expenses for equipment use, materials, supplies and mobilization. It also covers demobilization activities attributed to fighting an eligible fire.

The Mana Road fire jumped established firebreaks and threatened several communities. It also threatened habitat of critically endangered palila (Hawaiian honeycreeper).

Firefighters, county personnel and contractors used heavy equipment and helicopters to battle the blaze with conditions that included 18 to 20 mph winds with gusts up to 40 mph.

Prior to this fire, the Big Island’s largest blaze was the 2005 Waikoloa fire that burned 25,000 acres, according to the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization’s website.