One organization on Kaua‘i was among eight across the five main Hawaiian Islands awarded $1.8 million through the 2026 Hawaiʻi Urban Interface Wildfire Grant Program to reduce hazardous fuels, improve evacuation planning, strengthen preparedness and increase wildfire resilience.
The Hawaiʻi Wildfire Management Organization, in partnership with the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife, awarded funding to projects on Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Maui and Hawaiʻi Island, an increase from the $1.5 million awarded through the program in 2025, according to a news release from the Department of Land and Natural Resources.
“Wildfire risk looks different in every community and these projects reflect that,” said Nani Barretto, co-executive director of Hawaiʻi Wildfire Management Organization. “This funding allows organizations to address the specific risks facing their landscapes while protecting residents, homes, cultural resources and critical evacuation routes.”
The project on Kaua‘i that was awarded funding was ‘Āina Alliance, receiving $300,000. ʻĀina Alliance will launch the Anahola Community Action Teams initiative, a pre-disaster preparedness model that combines community coordination with on-the-ground wildfire mitigation. Work will include firebreak construction, vegetation management and grazing-based fuel reduction.
“These organizations understand their landscapes and the challenges their communities face,” said DLNR DOFAW State Protection Forester Michael Walker. “These grants help move high-impact, shovel-ready mitigation projects from planning into action.”
For more information about the 2026 awardees, visit hwmo.org/huigrant2026.
