Updated at 4:51 p.m., Thursday, July 19, 2007
Hawaii communities offered anti-wildfire grants
Advertiser Staff
To help protect Hawai'i communities against the threat of wildfires, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources is inviting Island towns and private landowners to apply for competitive grants to develop proactive wildland protection."Last year in Hawai'i, we experienced an extremely high number of wildland fires on most islands and in communities located next to wildland areas," said Allan Smith, the agency's interim chairman.
"It is critical that we assist these areas in reducing their risk from catastrophic fires. The state fire assistance program is designed to do just that," he said. "We hope that communities and their leaders again take advantage to apply for these competitive grant funds."
The department secured $77,500 in grant money this year from the state fire assistance program under the National Fire Plan for developing community wildfire protection plans for the west side of the Big Island. The grant will also be used to remove dead trees and brush.
All applications are due by the close of business on Sept. 7, the department said. The money will be available for fiscal year 2008-09, and projects which are funded will be able to begin on July 1, 2008.
Applications can be obtained by reaching Wayne Ching, the department's state protection forester, at 587-4173 or at wayne.f.ching@hawaii.gov. Applications also can be downloaded from www.dofaw.net.
