County Town Hall Meeting Report

By Norma Jean Ream

Hawaii County Council District 4 Leader Ashley Kierkiewicz, and her team hosted the Town Hall discussion on Emergency Preparedness and Response. The meeting was held in the Billy Kenoi Gym in Pahoa and was attended by a good representation of interested community members from all parts of Puna District.

Ms. Kierkiewicz introduced the panel of people representing the County Agencies and Partners in Civil Defense. This included Civil Defense Administrator, Planning Department, Fire Chief, Highway Division Chief, Pahoa Police Captain, Parks and Recreation Division Director, Hawaii Electric Utility, Resilience Hub Director of Vibrant Hawaii.

Each County leader spoke and outlined the responsibilities that each of the agencies represented. Civil Defense Director, Talmadge Magno, gave a history of events that Puna is particularly vulnerable to. The volcano and its effects, including earthquakes, lava eruptions and flows are specific concerns to the Puna District. It is also the location of the Puna Geothermal Venture (PGV).

The Big Island has the highest number of climate zones, each with their own hazards. There are areas of heavy vegetation and areas of dry grasses. The islands are subject to Hurricanes and high wind events. There are often road closures. A high percentage of Puna residents are on catchment water systems. Not all roads are the same in Puna. Some communities are limited to one way out. We live in a matrix of climate and weather hazards.

The State coordinating agency is HI—EMA. Hawaii Emergency Management Agency. They coordinate and organize at the state level to ensure critical infrastructure, such a airports, harbors, and highways are accessible and remain operational.

The mayor provides County leadership. The Civil Defense Agency implements the plan, disseminates essential information, and coordinates and mobilizes resources and personnel. Since 2012, the County has taken a “Whole Community Approach” to developing community plans. They have focused on building out community communication, including amateur radio operators. They are trying to put in place a multilevel structure of collaboration of organizations of management.

The County has been developing Hawaii Island Partners with local business to create plans to ensure energy resources, communication, and collaboration with Civil Defense to prioritize safety and restore critical services after an emergency.

Kevin Walgren from Hawaii Electric spoke about the company’s participation in addressing the Albizia problem with an updated plan. He addressed the topic of putting power lines underground, which he said, “was just impossible on an island of rock.”

The County has been developing an integrated alert warning system including digital “Push alerts” where everyone gets them on their phones and devices. You can sign up for specific notices through the new QR codes for Hawaii County Alerts on the civil defense website. http://hawaiicounty.gov/civil-defense 

The County has updated the Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan 2020. Each county has its own plans. There are regular briefings and work meetings in the center to familiarize all participants with the work environment of managing an emergency. They are creating as much redundancy in the systems of communication as possible on this island with the volcanoes and wide areas to cover. They also have backup generators.

There was a report on the siren status, which is getting address in the lower Puna district where some sirens need repair. Technicians come from off island and are systematically working on the sirens.

We heard from the Fire Chief, who manages the first responders, from ocean rescue, EMT ambulances, the big yellow fire trucks, two Hazmat centers. Big Island is the only county that combines fire and medical rescue services.

Public Works Division Chief, Neil Azevedo told the group that his department has twenty-seven employees in the district. They respond to reports of downed trees, dead animals, and any problems that block roads and the flow of traffic. They support two hundred miles of roads on the Big Island. They have a 5-week cycle of cutting grass. They maintain and manage the use of Emergency Roads. He said his crews paved Beach Road in 4 days, illustrating the commitment and attention his division gives to the safety of Puna.

It was our last big event, the eruption of 2018 that opened Fissure 8 in the middle of Leilani Estates that truly galvanized our greater community and gave rise to the idea of community support hubs that are as necessary as Emergency Shelters. The Parks and Recreation Division become the hosts for the community when staying at home in an emergency situation is not possible. Lindsey Io told the group that we have a wonderful facility in Pahoa at the Billy Kenoi Gymnasium. It safely and with Aloha welcomed a full house in 2018. While as Emergency Shelter they can only provide a place to stay, they are not able to provide food. Please keep that in mind when you pack to go to the Shelter. 

This dilemma of feeding people gave rise to the HUB and the volunteer partners who came together and developed Vibrant HI, community partnerships. The HUB distributed bottled water, pet food, canned goods, and so much more. Now it is Resilience Hubs who “are powered by trusted community leaders who provide access to services, programs, resources, and opportunities for community informed strategies the increase individual and island wide resilience.” Each area of the county now has neighborhood hubs.

The information brochure for the event is full of all the contact information for everyone to become informed and prepared for an emergency event. Civil Defense is working hard to update their systems, sirens, and communication redundancies to support the community responding to an emergency event. Road closure alerts. Lower Puna Alternate Routes are available when needed.

In your emergency planning remember to include your Pets. They are creating a community animal disaster plan, too.

After the panel had all spoken, I certainly felt like there was a general sense of things being under control. A dozen people lined up to address the panel and Council Woman Kierkiewicz with questions. Most on the same subject.  That is when I realized we had been ignoring the “ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM” …. Geothermal Hazard!!

This is a topic that presents a terrible hazard risk, well known to long-time Puna residents. There are people dedicatedly continue to monitor PGV activity. With a 1-minute time limit per person for questions, people worked together to give as much information as they could, showing that many are opposed to the continuation of drilling in Puna. As a group, they are asking the county for better monitoring of air quality and more “real time reporting” from PGV about the chemicals they are using so that the first responders and beyond know what toxins are released into the air.

One well-informed person asked first, who on the panel had read the 1993 Risk Assessment Report? The Fire Chief said he had seen it. The others admitted they had not read it. Council Woman, Ms. Kierkiewicz was the most informed and the only person on the panel group to have read the assessment: 1993 Volcanic Hazards to geothermal installations in Hawaii.

The resident continued asking about how the county would safely inform and evacuate the 10-mile radius that would be the safe zone in the event of a geothermal well blow-out, like the event that occurred in 1991. It was one of those pointed and uncomfortable questions because Civil Defense Director Magno admitted that there are so many variations and issues to such an event, contingencies are difficult, and it might not be wise to just evacuate everyone.

It became obvious that the Fire Department checks in with PGV for an annual checkup, and the county Emergency Management group of stakeholders accepts the ongoing geothermal activity to be acceptable.