Helping Maui at top of agenda for legislators

HONOLULU — Hawaii lawmakers are due to convene this week for the first time since the burning of historic Lahaina awakened the state to the deadly and costly threat posed by wildfires in an age of climate change.

The tragedy refocused the attention of lawmakers. Now, fighting and preventing wildfires and helping the island of Maui recover from the flames top the agenda as Hawaii’s Legislature returns for a new session this week.

“It really kicked us into gear in a different way,” said state Rep. Nadine Nakamura, the House majority leader and a Democrat.

The Aug. 8 blaze killed 100 people, destroyed more than 2,000 buildings and displaced 12,000 people. Experts estimate it will cost $5.5 billion to replace the structures exposed to the fire.

House Democrats will look at wildfire prevention needs statewide and develop an understanding of what the state Department of Land and Natural Resources needs in order to do a better job, Nakamura said.

A House wildfire prevention working group formed after the fire recommended a range of new measures, including a public awareness campaign to prevent fires from starting and tax or insurance incentives for wildfiresafe structures. The working group recommended that the state maintain firefighting aircraft and other equipment specifically to fight wildfires.

The Senate majority said in a news release it was committed to forming a fire risk task force and seeking permanent funding for the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization, which is a hub for wildfire prevention and mitigation.