Fire season getting longer on Kaua‘i

LIHU’E — The Kaua‘i Fire Department will host a “fire prevention week” educational event next month, following the chief’s reports of an “increase in fires” on the island.

The inaugural event will take place at 2 p.m. on Oct. 7 at Kaua‘i Philippine Cultural Center and will include fire extinguisher training, hands-on CPR demonstrations, personal wildland fire education, and information on the county’s fall prevention program for kupuna, according to a news release from the county on Thursday.

The Kaua‘i Emergency Management Agency, Kaua‘i Police Department and Ocean Safety Bureau will also host informational booths at the event.

Fire Chief Michael Gibson told The Garden Island he previously considered fire season to run from June through September, but that has started to expand to March through November.

“Longer days, more sunshine … When there’s more heat and more sun, it kind of extends that fire season so to speak,” he said.

There have been more than 274 wildfires this year on Kaua‘i, according to data from the county that covers January through August. The data shows 167 brush or crop fires, 54 structure fires and 53 vehicle fires in the eight-month period.

There were a total of 507 fires in 2022 — 347 brush fires, 81 structure fires and 79 vehicle fires. The county reported a total of 423 fires in 2021 — 298 brush fires, 50 structure fires and 75 vehicle fires.

Gibson said the department has noticed an increase in both structure and brush fires.

“Structure fires we’ve seen an increase too … If there’s a small fire to start outside of a house, and ultimately the structure is on fire, we would categorize that as a structure fire,” he said.

Gibson hasn’t noticed a significant change in the number of vehicle fires.

“I wouldn’t say (vehicle fires) increased more or less. It’s just dependent on the number of cars on the road,” he said.

The average number of fires per month for all three years can be calculated as 34.25 for 2023 so far (January through August), which is still lower than the average of 42.25 monthly fires in 2022, and 35.25 fires in 2021.

August 2023 had more fires, 60, when compared with the previous two years. That can be compared with 44 in August 2022 and 36 in August 2021.

There were 48 fires in July 2023, compared with 51 in July 2022 and 43 in July 2021.

Other months, including June, also show a decline in the number of fires this year. There were a total of 37 in June 2023, compared with 47 in June 2022, and 67 in June 2021.

The data does not mention the severity or include any of the fires reported so far this month, including one on Sept. 8 and one on Sept. 9.

During the Sept. 8 fire, fire crews spent roughly two hours extinguishing a warehouse structure “engulfed in flames” on Hulemalu Road in Puhi. The county reported no injuries, but two dogs were safely recovered and returned to their owners. Damage to the building was estimated at $15,000. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Less than 24 hours later, the county reported another building fire on the morning of Sept. 9 in Kapa‘a. According to the report, a restaurant in the Kaua‘i Village Shopping Center was found smoking and its sprinkler system had been activated due to a fire in the ceiling.

One firefighter suffered minor burn injuries during the incident. Gibson was grateful for the building’s sprinkler system.

“Fortunately, it was controlled by the fire sprinklers. So what could have been a much larger fire was kept to a minimum since it had a sprinkler system,” said Gibson of the Kapa‘a fire. The cause of that fire is also under investigation.

Gibson did not know how many fires there had been this month, but he estimated the total will exceed the 35 in September 2021 and 40 in September 2022.

“There are some higher numbers altogether with the fires,” Gibson said.

He said plans to handle increased fires include staffing more firefighters and having additional resources under red flag conditions.

“We have not hired any permanent positions as a result of the increased fires,” he said, adding that additional staff members would be working overtime.

“Our company officers … are adding additional resources early. So instead of just sending one fire engine, we’ll send two or three so that the fires already have a big size when they get there, they have the backup and the extra water.

We’ll have our helicopter on standby because that’s usually a quick and rapid way to put out a lot of water in a fire at one time,” he said.

Gibson advised the public to create “a defensible space around their house” by taking steps, including clearing dead branches or weeds around their yards and cutting overgrown trees that are touching homes to reduce the risk of fire danger.

“I think in wake of what’s been happening not only in our state and islands but nationwide, communities are becoming more vigilant.”

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Emma Grunwald, reporter, can be reached 808-652-0638 or egrunwald@thegardenisland.com.