MEDIA RELEASE

Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization will hold community input meetings to update four Hawaii County Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs) for Volcano, Ka‘u, Ocean View, and South Kona communities.

Community input is critical to the CWPP process to determine priority wildfire concerns, needs, and action steps to better prepare and protect fire-prone areas from wildfires.

The CWPP update meetings will identify and prioritize projects to reduce the threat of wildfire to these communities.

Meetings will be held at the following locations and times:

* Oct. 28 – 2-3 p.m. – Volcano Cooper Center

* Oct. 28 – 6-7 p.m. – Naalehu Elementary & Intermediate School

* Oct. 29 – 6-7 p.m. – Ocean View Community Center

* Nov. 5 – 6-7 p.m. – Konawaena Elementary School

Wildfires have great impacts on Hawaii County residents and natural resources, affecting:

* Daily life (road closures, traffic, evacuations, tax payer dollars)

* Human health and safety (dust, smoke, water quality, burned homes and structures, resident and firefighter safety)

* Ecosystem health and resilience (watersheds, forests, coral reefs, fisheries)