Fire - Prevention & Resources

UH Manoa CTAHR Extension Maui County Guides

After the Disaster
Use this resource from the UH Manoa CTAHR Maui County Cooperative Extension office to guide you through the immediate impacts of the wildfire disaster and to help you locate the support and resources you will need.

Recovery Guide
Use this resource from the UH Manoa CTAHR Maui County Cooperative Extension office to guide you through the recovery process as you move from immediate needs to long-term planning and recover.

Other Fire Planning Guides

• Self-guided Lesson to Help Identify Hazardous Fuels - Pacific Fire Exchange
• Pre-fire Planning - Pacific Fire Exchange
• Fuels Management - Pacific Fire Exchange
• Post Fire Response - CTAHR
• Hawaii Wildland Fire Action Guide - Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization

After the Fire

• After the Fire Resources - Oregon State University
• After the Fire Flowchart - Oregon State Univesrity

Agricutltrure Related Resources

• Soil Monitoring After a Fire - Pacific Fire Exchange

Protect Yourself from Wildfire Smoke - Oregon State University

Water Quality

• Post-Fire Drinking Water Hub

• Maui County water and test results updates
  News Flash • Maui County • CivicEngage

• Maps
  ArcGIS Web Application

• Drinking water updates + water sampling
  MAUI POST-FIRE COMMUNITY WATER INFO HUB – UHM Water Resources Research Center (hawaii.edu)

Excerpt from Keeping Food Safe After a Fire

Excess heat, smoke, and toxic fumes released from burning materials, as well as chemicals used to fight fires, can cause foods exposed to them to be unsafe to eat. Saving food that has been in a fire is often unwise.

Heat from Fire

Food in cans and jars exposed to the heat of a fire may no longer be safe to eat. Heat can activate foodborne microorganisms. If heat is extreme enough, cans and jars can split or break, making the food unsafe. To be safe, throw away any food that has been burned or near fire. Fumes and smoke from fire. Fire can release toxic fumes from burning materials. Toxic fumes can contaminate foods both inside and outside of refrigerators and freezers. To be safe, throw away food exposed to fumes and smoke from fire including:

• Any type of food stored in permeable packaging such as cardboard, plastic wrap, and screw-topped jars and bottles – even if they have not been opened.

• Raw foods, such as potatoes or fruit.
• Foods having an off-flavor or odor.

Chemicals from fire

Toxic chemicals used to fight fires can contaminate food and cookware. To be safe, throw away foods exposed to chemicals including those:

• Stored at room temperature, such as fruits and vegetables.
• Stored in permeable packaging, such as cardboard, plastic wrap, and screw-topped jars and bottles – even if they have not been opened.

To be safe, decontaminate canned goods and cookware exposed to chemicals:

• Remove labels and relabel with marker. Include the expiration date.
• Wash in a strong detergent solution. Rinse.
• Soak in a bleach solution of 1 tablespoon of regular-strength bleach per gallon of water for 15 minutes.

Dealing with Trauma

• Farmer Ranch Stress Management - (translated)

• Managing Strong Emotional Responses to Disasters - American Association of School Psychologists

• Children May Experience Long Term Effects of Disaster - Kansas State University

• There Was a Fire - A story for ages 3-8 for talking about the fires on Maui. It is designed to be shared with young children with the support of an adult.. Families should review the story before reading to their Keiki. It does acknowledge that people died. It also includes links to resources at the end. (Honolulu Community College)

• Survival basics: Stress Less (also in Spanish) – Oregon State University

• Care for Your Mental Health - Oregon State University

Simple Healthy Recipes

• Healthy Local Recipes    University of Hawaii CTAHR Extension GET Local
• Easy Meals using MyPlate    USDA
• Two Week Menu Kit    University of Minnesota Extension
• FRM Resiliency Cookbook EFNEP    EFNEP Resiliency Workgroup
• Emergency Preparedness Cookbook     Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
• Food Hero    Oregon State University
• Meals without Electricity    University of Illinois Extension

Safety

• Returning to Your Home Kitchen After a Wildfire
• Protecting Indoor Air from Wildfire Smoke
• Survival basics: Water (also in Spanish) – Oregon State University
• Preparing Your Home - Oregonn State University

When building homes in wildfire-prone areas, landscaping must be designed with fire safety in mind.  The information below are excerpts taken from "Firescaping - Landscape Design for Wildfire Defensible/Survivable Space":

Firescape integrates traditional landscape functions with a design that reduces the threat from wildfire. It includes planting for fire safety, vegetation modification techniques, use of fire safety zones, and defensible space principles.

In firescaping, plant selection is primarily determined by a plant’s ability to reduce the wildfire threat.

Avoid Evergreens near the House

Minimize use of evergreen shrubs and trees within 30 feet of a structure because junipers, other conifers, and broadleaf evergreens contain oils, resins, and waxes that make these plants burn with great intensity. Use ornamental grasses and berries sparingly here because they also can be highly flammable. Choose “fire smart” plants. These are low-growing plants with high moisture content. Their stems and leaves are not resinous, oily, or waxy.

Deciduous trees are generally more fire resistant than evergreens because they have a higher moisture content when in leaf and a lower fuel volume when dormant, and they typically do not contain flammable oils.

The 30 feet closest to a structure is the most critical defensible space area. This is an area where highly flammable fuels are kept to a minimum and plants are kept green throughout the fire season. Use well-irrigated perennials here. Another choice is low-growing or non-woody deciduous plants.

Incorporate the following defensible space principles in your firescape design:

• Create a minimum 30-foot defensible space around structures (larger if there is a slope).
• Remove dead vegetation.
• Create “islands” of plants with space between.
• Create separation between layers of vegetation, eliminating the fuel “ladder.”
• Keep the landscape green and low growing — that is, “lean, clean, and green.”

General Information

Post-Fire Vegetation and Soil Monitoring in Hawai

Resources for Natural Resource managers and landowners:

The Grass-Fire Cycle on Pacific Islands - understand the grass-fire cycle to better manage grasslands reduce risk of wildland fire