August will mark two years since the Maui wildfires roared through Lahaina town and parts of upcountry Kula.
One of the recommendations that came out of that tragedy was the need for a state fire marshal. Dori Booth has been on the job for about two months now. Booth is a third-generation firefighter and an Army veteran who served in Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan.
We sat down with her in a mostly empty office Tuesday afternoon. She doesn't have much furniture or staff at this point. Most of her time has been spent out in the field learning her new territory.
Administratively, the office has been placed within the state Department of Law Enforcement.
Interview highlights
On working in Hawaiʻi and past experience working for the Phoenix Fire Department
DORI BOOTH: Nobody hears about what Hawaiʻi is doing until there's a tragedy similar to Lahaina. And getting to see firsthand that there's so many amazing initiatives that are going on, not only on the wildfire front, but children's education and outreach, different codes and standards. The people that are all working together to really make small communities, even though we're separated by water, work together in the events of emergency.
BOOTH: I was with Phoenix fire for 17 years in a very largely urban area with mountain preserves that were very dry. And then we also had people expanding the built environment into that interface and intermix area, where we were seeing those brush fires starting to encroach as well into the homes. So working with the Wildland-Urban Interface Code and education, even to help people understand landscaping and what they can do at their parcel level. But also on a government and land manager side of making sure the right people are talking and communicating and trying to educate our zoners and planners that push back when there is that urgency to build.
On working with fire councils and counties
BOOTH: For me, the state fire marshal should be the hub to bring all of the different folks in the wheel together to break down silos or build bridges that maybe were a little shaky and solidify those relationships. … But we're also helping take some of the weight off of the State Fire Council. So in 1978, when that was created, once the Fire Marshal's Office was done away with, those fire chiefs have now been running their own fire departments. But then they've absorbed the responsibilities of state fire marshal in addition to everything else that they're supposed to be doing. And as the codes have evolved and life changes and the risks have been increasing, now they're trying to balance those hats. So I really see taking a lot of weight off of their shoulders to be able to help take that community risk reduction, life safety, fire prevention aspect, and let them go manage their departments and really work with them to make sure that we're all working together.
On past Hawaiʻi wildfires
BOOTH: Thankfully, they don't get to the size that we saw on the West Coast, Southwest and thousands of acres that go on for campaign-level days. But they're very busy here in terms of the wildfire brush fires, but they're good at getting to them and keeping them relatively contained and knocked down pretty quick. But I guess for me, being fire buff and always being in the fire service, I kept track of what was going on. So I'd hear fires here and there. But the story that the rest of the country or the world isn't hearing is really what all of the islands are doing here in terms of not only fighting the fires, but what they're trying to do, and trying to bring everybody to the table for mitigation and resilience, to try to not have another Lahaina. And one of my missions is to make sure that we do everything in our power to prevent that, but in the event that it does happen, is making sure that we're advocating for the support to rebuild so it doesn't happen again.
On wanting to serve the community
BOOTH: I don't know anything other than being a servant to the community, really. My dad was a firefighter, retired as a battalion chief in Peoria, Illinois. My grandfather worked with the fire department as well. My mom was a teacher, so everybody in my family has been ingrained into helping the community, helping others. So it was a natural fit for me to end up serving in some capacity. And oddly enough, my dad had tried to talk me out of the fire service for a long time, just because he didn't want me to have the hazards and the stresses that he had seen. And by my senior year, he finally gave up on it, going to school for fire protection engineering and then also in the military. Just there's always been a servitude attitude of wanting to take care of others and give back. … If there's things that I can do to really help improve based on my experiences and knowledges, that's what I'm here for. But I will say that I'm still building the office, and I have a staff of me, myself and I, so we're working through that. And the fire departments here are fantastic, so they should be truly the first line of effort in calling in concerns and things and working with the counties, and I'm here to help them and the community.
This story aired on The Conversation on July 30, 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Hannah Kaʻiulani Coburn adapted this interview for the web.
