The most dangerous power lines on Hawaiʻi Island sit just above Waikōloa Village, a stone's throw from people's backyards.
Hawaiian Electric's Wildfire Safety Strategy, submitted to the Public Utilities Commission in January, identified the power circuit above Waikōloa as having the highest wildfire risk on Big Island, and the fourth highest risk in the state overall.
The Wildfire Safety Advocates of Waikōloa, led by village resident Matt Chalker, ultimately want HECO to put the hazardous lines underground.
In the meantime, the community group has been partnering with the utility in an effort to remove several mature kiawe trees that sit directly under the power lines in order to reduce the area's fire risk.
They were in line for a $75,000 grant from HECO to hire arborists to remove the trees. But before the funding could go through, the group received word from the utility that their grant had been suspended.
"I was literally finalizing the paperwork on Jan. 27, the day before the funding was rescinded," Chalker said.
That $75,000 grant is a tiny chunk of HECO's $190 million investment in wildfire prevention, half of which is funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act through the federal Department of Energy.
On Jan. 28, the DOE sent a memorandum to HECO ordering the utility to immediately cease any activities using federal funds for DEI, community benefits plans, or Justice40 initiatives.
It cited President Donald Trump's executive order titled "Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing" as the cause.
"We are a community benefits plan, no question about it. The language was unambiguously clear that that funding needed to stop for this vital project," Chalker said. "HECO was complying with the order that came from the federal government."
Although Chalker sympathized with the utility's position, he also expressed frustration that his organization's project had ended up on the chopping block.
The Wildfire Safety Advocates of Waikōloa formed in the wake of the 2023 wildfire in Lahaina. Their mission is to ensure a similar tragedy never befalls their community, which is extremely fire-prone.
An analysis by the Department of the Attorney General found Waikōloa's risk of wildfire was slightly above that of Lahaina and "100% higher" than any other place in the U.S.
The Waikōloa group has been pushing officials to expand evacuation routes, clear dry vegetation, and address water scarcity in the village. Chalker said the work is often an uphill battle.
"It's a complicated situation, and we're trying to chip away at each little bit as possible as we go along," he said. "It's really deflating when you spend a lot of time and energy on what seems to be low-hanging fruit, and then the wind gets pulled out of your sails."
HECO Vice President Jim Kelly told HPR that the utility still expects to receive the full $95 million in federal funds from the Department of Energy, but that it must shift the $5 million it had earmarked for community benefits plans to other infrastructure projects.
Kelly said HECO has 11 community benefits projects related to grid resilience in the works. It's prepared to front the cost for two of those partnerships that are already under contract, but that doesn't include the Wildfire Safety Advocates' project.
Kelly said even without federal support, HECO wants to continue to work on funding opportunities for the other nine projects.
Bob Yuhnke, a Waikōloa homeowner and a member of the Wildfire Safety Advocates, said the cost of their project pales in comparison to the financial losses that could occur if Waikōloa experienced a major wildfire.
"What we're talking about here is a $75,000 commitment to save $3.5 billion worth of residential development in this village," he said. "What the [Trump] administration is saying is that that $75,000 is waste and abuse, and that is just outrageous."
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