2025-011
July 31, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n
HONOLULU \u2014 The Hawai\u02bbi Emergency Management Agency (HIEMA) is alerting the public that the National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a Red Flag Warning for portions of the state. The Red Flag Warning is in effect until 6:00 p.m. Friday, August 1. This warning signals that critical fire weather conditions \u2014 strong winds, low humidity and dry fuels \u2014 are creating an extreme wildfire risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe cannot afford to be careless when conditions are this dangerous,\u201d said Governor Josh Green, M.D.. \u201cNearly all of Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s wildfires are started by human activity, which means nearly all of them are preventable. Every person in our state \u2014 residents and visitors alike \u2013 has a role to play in reducing the risk. Please take this warning seriously, avoid activities that can spark fires and do your part to keep our communities and \u2018ohana safe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRed Flag Warnings are a serious call to action,\u201d said James Barros, HIEMA Administrator. \u201cA single spark can have devastating consequences. It is everyone\u2019s kuleana \u2014 our shared responsibility \u2014 to prevent ignition and protect our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Human-caused ignitions remain the primary threat<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Nearly 99\u202f% of wildfires in Hawai\u02bbi are caused by human activity, including careless disposal of cigarette butts, unattended campfires, \u201chot work\u201d such as welding that uses machinery causing sparks, burning of yard waste, and sparks along roadways and powerline corridors (dlnr.hawaii.gov). Individual actions make the difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fuel loads and climate conditions drive fire severity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Non-native, fire-prone grasses and shrubs cover more than 25\u202f% of Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s landscape, creating \u201cfine fuels\u201d that can spread fire rapidly and unpredictably (hwmo.org). Combined with warming, drier conditions, Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s fire season is effectively year-round, with about 0.5\u202f% of state land burning each year \u2014 among the highest proportions in the nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Resource challenges and community preparedness<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) manages fire response across nearly 60% of Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s lands, but constrained personnel and equipment make wildfire mitigation and suppression challenging. This year\u2019s state budget included additional staffing and funding for fire mitigation, as well as approval to reduce fuels on state lands not maintained by DOFAW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Residents and visitors can also help protect their homes and communities by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Infrastructure and evacuation challenges<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n HIEMA continues to work with partnering agencies and counties, utilizing modernized alert systems and enhanced public safety during fast-moving fire events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWildfire preparedness is everyone\u2019s kuleana \u2014 from individual homeowners and landowners to public land managers, large agricultural operations and even visitors,\u201d said State Fire Marshal Dori Booth. \u201cWe must all work together to build a safer, more resilient Hawai\u02bbi.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For real-time updates on weather conditions and warnings, visit the National Weather Service at www.weather.gov\/hfo and follow HIEMA on X (formerly Twitter) at @Hawaii_EMA. For more information on wildfire conditions and preparedness, visit https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/hiema\/wildfire\/.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n # # #<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Contact:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n S. K\u012belek\u016b Amundson 2025-011July 31, 2025 HONOLULU \u2014 The Hawai\u02bbi Emergency Management Agency (HIEMA) is alerting the public that the National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a Red Flag Warning for portions of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":153,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"11122,9960,10010,8341,5939,3101","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[357,351],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-357","category-news-release"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/hiema\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/hiema\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/hiema\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/hiema\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/153"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/hiema\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11110"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/hiema\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11110\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15745,"href":"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/hiema\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11110\/revisions\/15745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/hiema\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/hiema\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/hiema\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
Communications Director
Phone: 808-733-4300 Ext 522
Email: shirley.t.k.amundson@hawaii.gov<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"