Governor Josh Green, M.D.

HONOLULU —The State Joint Information Center (JIC) urges Hawai‘i residents and visitors to take steps and exercise care to reduce the risks of fires as dry and gusty conditions move across the state this week.

The state and its partners are coordinating additional firefighting resources across the area to meet the increased risk, but the public also plays a vital part in reducing harm.

“This is a kākou situation, where we all have to do our part to protect our communities,” said James Barros, Administrator of Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency (HI-EMA).

The conditions are not expected to be as hazardous as the hurricane-accelerated winds that accompanied the August 7 and 8, 2023 wildfires on Hawai‘i island and Maui, when gusts exceeded 60 mph.

However, the National Weather Service has issued a Fire Weather Watch for leeward areas of all Hawaiian islands from midday Wednesday through Thursday afternoon.

This indicates that a combination of dry and warm conditions, low relative humidity, and winds of more than 20 mph couldcreate the risk of fire ignitions and greater difficulty in controlling the spread of fires. A Fire Weather Watch is less severe than a Red Flag Warning, which indicates those conditions are occurring or are expected to occur in the next 48 hours.

The NWS Fire Weather Watch noted that trade winds of 15 to 30 mph are expected from Wednesday afternoon through Thursday afternoon, gusting at up to 45 mph. Relative humidity could fall to 35 to 45% by Thursday, creating an increased risk of rapid fire spread.

To reduce the risk of wildfires during this period of heightened risk, we recommend that residents:

For more information on preventing and preparing for wildfires, see this guide from the Hawai‘i Wildfire Management Organization or visit hawaiiwildfire.org.

Additional steps the public can take to prepare:

The Joint Information Center (JIC) is supporting media operations regarding the August 2023 wildfires in Maui and Hawai‘i counties. The JIC is handling all media inquiries for Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency (HI-EMA) and the Hawai‘i National Guard, which includes state-level inquiries and interview requests.

A dedicated phone number for the JIC is (808) 636-8955. If you would like to contact the JIC by email, please direct your inquiries to [email protected].

For county-level inquiries, please contact the Maui County Joint Information Center by phone at (808) 830-0416, or by email at [email protected].

Members of the media are encouraged to use these coordinated contacts to ensure prompt attention to requests. The contact numbers and email are not to be shared with the public.

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