By Eric Enos
Wildfire in Waiʻanae is not theoretical. It is a lived experience. Fire moves quickly across dry grasslands, threatens homes, and leaves ʻāina stripped and exposed. Along the Leeward Coast, families understand this risk through memory, loss and the long work of recovery.
In 2012, a wildfire tore through portions of Kaʻala Farm’s loʻi and surrounding agricultural lands. The response was immediate and collective. Kūpuna arrived with guidance rooted in experience. Volunteers arrived with tools and resolve. Students arrived ready to learn, work and rebuild. Replanting began while smoke still lingered in the air.
That moment reinforced a lesson long held in ʻike kūpuna: when we care for the land, the land protects us.
Kaʻala Farm exists to restore living culture through active stewardship. Loʻi restoration, invasive grass removal and native planting are not symbolic acts. They are practical, proven strategies that serve cultural practice and public safety at the same time.
Our community knows firsthand how closely fire, water and safety are connected. During the 2012 fire, waterlines were burned, cutting off a critical lifeline just when it was needed most. Community members stepped forward with kōkua, raising funds, purchasing materials and reinstalling the 1 mile of irrigation system so both land and people could recover.
In 2018, another major fire threatened the valley, trapping two school buses filled with keiki as flames surrounded the roadway. We sheltered together in the loʻi, which served as a natural firebreak and safe refuge while other staff fought the fire at our farm entry gate.
These moments made one truth unmistakable: well-maintained agricultural landscapes and water systems are not just about food production. They are essential infrastructure for community safety and resilience. Healthy land retains moisture. Native ecosystems slow fire spread.
Degraded landscapes dominated by invasive grasses do the opposite, accelerating danger and placing entire communities at risk. Wildfire prevention does not begin when sirens sound. It begins years earlier through consistent land management grounded in place-based knowledge.
Stewardship at the ahupuaʻa scale builds resilience from the uplands to the communities below, reconnecting ecological systems that once worked in balance.
The new Green Fee Advisory Council’s Year 1 recommendations recognize this reality. Proposed investments prioritize native plant restoration, invasive species control and community-led ahupuaʻa stewardship statewide. These recommendations align directly with the needs of Leeward Oʻahu, where decades of underinvestment have intensified wildfire risk.
Community-led efforts in Waiʻanae already demonstrate what works. Residents, schools, nonprofits and agencies come together to reduce risk while building long-term capacity. Students learn how fire moves across landscapes. Volunteers clear dry grasses and kiawe from high-risk areas. Families gain tools to protect homes and neighborhoods.
Green-fee funding represents more than environmental spending. It is an investment in wildfire mitigation, water security, food systems and cultural education. Every acre restored reduces fuel loads. Every native planting strengthens water retention. Every loʻi revived feeds families while lowering wildfire risk.
As legislators review green-fee recommendations, the connection must be clear: stewardship equals safety. Cultural practice equals climate resilience. Ahupuaʻa restoration is public infrastructure.
Waʻianae is showing what it looks like when communities lead. Green-fee investments offer Hawaiʻi a path forward grounded in responsibility to land, people, and future generations.
Eric Enos is the executive director of Kaʻala Farms, Inc. This opinion piece was originally published by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on February 25, 2026.
