In a special series on fire vulnerability, HPR reporters Ashley Mizuo and Savannah Harriman-Pote examine how various Hawaiʻi communities identify shortcomings and find solutions to their wildfire risks. This is part four:
Emergency officials contained a 75-acre brush fire on Hawaiʻi Island earlier this week. No one was hurt, and no structures were threatened.
The fire burned just 100 yards from the edge of Waikōloa Village, a town of about 7,500 people. Waikōloa residents have experienced a series of close calls with wildfires over the last two decades.
In 2021, Hawaiʻi County Mayor Mitch Roth called on residents to evacuate in response to the massive Mana Road fire, which burned about 40,000 acres of brush near the town.
Waikōloa Village has only one public road in and out of the community, as well as an evacuation route that is generally blocked off to public access by a locked gate.
Even with the evacuation route open, providing a second path out of town, Roth said it took some cars two hours to get to the closest major highway — a drive that typically takes about ten minutes. He said the experience was eye-opening.
“Time matters when you're doing an evacuation,” Roth said. “One route isn’t enough.”
Waikōloa needs a second evacuation route, but Roth said he can’t just pick a direction and build a new road. He said part of the challenge of constructing new infrastructure around Waikōloa is that “everybody owns the property but the state and county.”
Roth has been in talks with multiple private landowners who have agreed to donate land — and foot a good chunk of the bill — for a new route out of Waikōloa’s north end.
Hawaiʻi County officials held a groundbreaking ceremony for the road earlier this summer. Roth said the route could be open for emergency access within the year and may eventually be turned into a public thoroughfare.
But some residents worry that the progress on the new road won’t keep up with the growth of the community. Like the rest of the state, Hawaiʻi County is dealing with a housing crisis.
Land in Waikōloa has been earmarked for several new developments to increase house inventory, including more than 800 affordable housing units slated for construction by the county.
As a result, Waikōloa’s population is expected to balloon over the next decade.
Bob Yuhnke, a Waikōloa resident and member of a group called the Wildfire Safety Advocates of Waikōloa, worries that more residents means more cars on the road, making it harder for people to evacuate safely in the event of a disaster.
“This road situation here has been a hot issue for 20 years, and it's never been resolved,” Yuhnke said.
He said there’s “broad support” in the community for the development of affordable housing. However, the Wildfire Safety Advocates want Roth to call for a pause on new development — private and public — until a second road out of Waikōloa is completed.
“I've not heard anybody raise concerns about adding affordable housing in this community,” Yuhnke said. “The question is — affordable housing is mostly for young families, and putting young families with children in one of the highest risk locations in the state without a way out seems like a prescription for a disaster.”
Are there evacuation plans in place for senior housing facilities? Read part five of HPR's series on fire vulnerability:
