Pact between Hawaiian Electric, nonprofit to fund critical Firewise positions, expand wildfire prevention outreach $50,000 installment paid to Hawaiʻi Wildfire Management Organization

Pact between Hawaiian Electric, nonprofit to fund critical
Firewise positions, expand wildfire prevention outreach
$50,000 installment paid to Hawaiʻi Wildfire Management Organization
HONOLULU, March 3, 2025 – Hawaiian Electric has partnered with Hawaiʻi Wildfire
Management Organization to help fund the nonprofit’s Firewise coordinator positions that help
galvanize communities to reduce wildfire risk across the state.
The first $50,000 of a $260,000 commitment was recently paid to HWMO, a nonprofit based on
Hawaiʻi Island that is now overseeing 31 Firewise communities across three counties. HWMO
locally administers the nationally recognized Firewise USA program, which provides a
framework to help communities organize and take action to increase the ignition resistance of
their homes and address wildfire risks.
“Our support of Hawaiʻi Wildfire Management Organization is a valuable investment in
strengthening community resilience across the five islands Hawaiian Electric serves,” said Kurt
Tsue, Hawaiian Electric director of community affairs. “Getting behind HWMO’s communitydriven wildfire mitigation efforts is critical as we work in parallel to upgrade our infrastructure to
reduce the risk of ignition and protect our customers and communities.”
Last week HWMO hosted the Hawaiʻi Wildfire Summit in Kona where more than 260 attendees
learned about wildfire prevention efforts, collaborated with experts and community leaders, and
planned actionable projects to build community resilience. Hawaiian Electric was a sponsor of
the event.
Nani Barretto, HWMO co-executive director, said it initially took 10 years to onboard 15 Firewise
communities. “Within 10 months of the Maui wildfires, we onboarded another 15,” Barretto said.
“As of last week, we have 31 nationally recognized sites across three counties and another 13
in the application process,” she said, noting the funds from Hawaiian Electric help HWMO carry
out its mission.
The funding comes at a time when HWMO’s federal grants are ending, Barretto said, adding
Hawaiian Electric and other local sources are filling in the gap.
Firewise program coordinators help communities think through what projects will reduce risk,
provide technical assistance and bring communities together to share resources, among other
responsibilities, Barretto said.
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Pact between Hawaiian Electric, nonprofit to fund critical Firewise positions,
expand wildfire prevention
Page 2 of 2
March 3, 2025
Shelly Aina of the Waikōloa Village Association Firewise Committee, which has maintained its
Firewise designation since 2016, said the funding that local entities provide to HWMO is
invaluable. “The more they have, the more we have,” Aina said.
“We did a big fuel mitigation project,” Aina said, adding HWMO was pivotal in helping the
committee come up with a plan to clear a fuel break last year. “It all goes back to HWMO,” Aina
said of the Firewise committee’s successes.