Sadly, wildfire is on everyone’s mind, and our hearts go out to Maui. In addition to doing all we can for the people and communities of Maui, Hawai’i Island residents are being urged to think about preparedness for themselves, their families and community.
“Are You Ready?” when...not if...an emergency arises?
Months before the recent fires, this question became the focus of the Waimea Resilience Hub, a hui of 18 volunteers, and it’s now the theme of their upcoming community event - “Are You Ready?” Waimea Fire Prevention and Resilience Fair on Sat., Sept. 9, 2023 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Mana Christian ‘Ohana’s Kahilu Town Hall, across from Kahilu Theatre in Waimea.
Everyone is invited,” said the Waimea hub’s volunteer Chair, Tim Bostock. It’s a free, family-friendly walk-and-talk event featuring more than 30 federal, state and county agencies and community fire safety and resilience experts.
“We have two main goals: to encourage everyone in the community to become better prepared and, just as important, even more connected every day and especially in times of emergency,” he said.
Among the interesting, timely table presentations will be an opportunity to check out a Starlink connection shared by Vibrant Hawai’i and Hawai’i Tracker. A Starlink system provides WIFI connectivity via satellite, which is essential when WIFI is down or you are in a WIFI desert. Several Starlinks recently were deployed on Maui to provide connectivity for residents stranded without internet access.
Other presenters include Hawai’i County Civil Defense, Hawai’i Wildfire Management Organization (HWMO) with their Kaleo Pueo mascot along with several of their 10+ South Kohala FIREWISE community volunteers. Also participating will be Hawai’i County Community Policing with Keiki ID, the Waimea Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), the Kohala-Hamakua Radio Club, Hawai’i Island Food Basket, Mala’ai School Garden, University of Hawai‘i CTAHR, and Waimea nutritionist Vivienne Aronowitz sharing samplings of delicious healthy shelf-stable food choices.
Joining the more than 30 presenters will be Pohakuloa Training Area and Hawai’i County Fire Department and volunteers with fire fighting and emergency response apparatus (aka vehicles), and the Daniel Sayre Memorial Foundation, which recently contributed a new emergency helicopter and another custom-designed off-road tanker, called a Bulldog, to the Hawai’i County Fire Department’s 9Alpha volunteer unit in Waiki’i.
Information will range from how to prepare a “Go Kit” for emergency evacuations, to how to become a certified member of Waimea’s CERT Team. It also will include help applying for an EBT card, Kupuna Pantry, DA BUX or DA BOX and how to assist Kokua Harvest with gleaning to increase the supply of healthy fresh produce into the food system. There also will be assistance with responding to MedQuest redetermination paperwork. Give-aways will include twin packages of Narcan from the Hawai’i Island Fentanyl Task Force to have on hand in the event of encountering someone who has overdosed on Fentanyl, to kabocha and u’ala (sweet potato) seedlings from Mala’ai School Garden and CTAHR to be planted at home to ensure there’s a supply of healthy delicious food growing in your yard.
There will be an opportunity to sign up to receive Hawai’i County Civil Defense alerts, to custom designing a 3Rs UXO safety t-shirt for children. There also will be tempting door prizes – from a fire prevention weed whacker to a fire- and water-proof “Go Kit,” from a solar phone charger to a home fire extinguisher, from food safety thermometers and home-size fire blankets, to a set of hand-held radios, headlamps and more. Door prize drawings will be held every half hour and Maos Kitchen will be selling their popular grab-n-go Mexican street foods.
This event is organized by Waimea Resilience Hub (WRH) with fund. Members of the Waimea hub, who came together initially in 2019 to address emergency preparedness, quickly pivoted to pandemic priorities, helping distribute masks, PPEs, keiki activity kits, and COVID test kits, and assisted with food distribution and access to technology to support keiki during school closures. The hub has now pivoted back to its original intention of resilience and preparedness for the Waimea community.
WRH is one of more than 35 volunteer hubs across the island in partnership with Vibrant Hawai’i to increase community awareness and access to resources that build resilience and preparedness to social vulnerabilities and natural disasters.
