2024-05-06 Deborah Ward - Laserfiche WebLink

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WILDFIRE RISK ASSESSMENT Purpose and Methods The purpose of the community risk assessment is to: 1. Provide site-specific information to the community to promote wildfire awareness; 2. Help identify and prioritize areas for treatment; and 3. Determine the highest priority uses for available financial and human resources. The methods for the community wildfire risk assessment followed the guidelines established for the HFRA,which requires the following actions: • Step 4-Establish a Community Base Map • Step 5a-Develop a Community Risk Assessment • Step 5b-Identify Overall Community Priorities The wildfire risk assessment follows the guidelines and requirements of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Pre-Disaster Mitigation program and the National Fire Plan (NFP). Community Base Map Using GIS technology and local expertise,HWMO developed a base map of the communities and adjacent landscapes of interest. The map is a visual aid from which community members and agencies identified values and resources at risk in the Ka`u Area. After considering the location of the inhabited areas, the critical human infrastructure, the areas of community importance, and the risk of wildfire, the community identified a wildland-urban interface (WUI) zone around community assets. The community and local agencies determined that shoreline areas and lands upslope from the major . t highway must be included in the CWPP boundaries. Both areas have access roads (multiple ignition points) and include older settlement areas,historical buildings, and irreplaceable natural and cultural l ° resources. Abundant fire fuels and heavy winds in OP the lowland coastal areas promote rapid spread of- $1 4 fires, quickly endangering historical sites, { recreational areas, grazing lands, homes, and community infrastructure. In higher elevation areas, stlEti Above:Firefighters and residents examine and the smoke from upland wildfires create safety discuss the Community Base Map. (visibility) and health hazards because the prevailing winds transport the smoke into the lower elevations and across the district. Wildfires in the higher elevations also create post-fire flooding and erosion conditions that threaten communities down slope. In many cases,fires up to 15 miles away from the main highway have put community resources at risk. See Community Base Map below for area resources and plan boundaries. 15