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Maui Emergency Management presents strategic 'whole community' plan; committee defers decision
Summary
Maui Emergency Management Agency Administrator presented a strategic and integrated preparedness plan emphasizing "whole community" engagement, hazard mitigation, upgraded alerts and a wildfire risk‑reduction pilot. Committee members asked about staffing, generators, drone support for isolated communities and timelines; the committee deferred the
Administrator Amos Solona Kailua Hewitt of the Maui Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) presented an updated strategic plan and integrated preparedness plan to the Disaster Recovery, International Affairs and Planning Committee, outlining organizational changes, training goals, new technology and several grant‑funded projects.
"We're trying to build, have a vision of, all of us, the whole community coming together collectively, seamlessly to respond and to recover," Hewitt told the committee during the presentation.
Why it matters
The plan outlines how MEMA proposes to implement lessons learned from recent disasters, expand staffing and local response capabilities, improve public alerts and warnings, and pilot wildfire risk‑reduction projects that may affect neighborhoods across Maui County. The plan frames MEMA’s approach as a countywide, community‑integrated effort with specific near‑term deliverables tied to contracts and grants.
What the plan proposes (high‑level)
- Whole‑community approach: MEMA emphasized coordinating government agencies, nonprofits, businesses and community leaders through a community network and a business network to reduce duplication and strengthen recovery capacity.
- Staffing and organization: Hewitt said the agency has filled 18 of 22 planned positions and asked council support for additional positions requested in the FY2026 budget. MEMA described three newly assigned staff specialists to support Molokai, Lanai and East Maui who will live in those communities.
- New EOC and operations: MEMA plans to move into a new Emergency Operations Center; sign‑off and move‑in dates discussed included an anticipated sign‑off in August and a hoped‑for move in by September 1. Hewitt invited council members to tour the new EOC and its operations once completed.
- Alerts, warnings and public information: MEMA highlighted implementation of a faster notification platform (Genesys Protect), siren inspections, radio partnerships and a public education campaign. The administrator said residents can register multiple addresses in Genesys Protect and that MEMA alerts complement that tool.
- Training, CERT and community readiness: MEMA reported recent and upcoming Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training, a train‑the‑trainer scheduled in June and multiple classes through the year; the agency set a long‑term target of a 10,000‑person roster by 2028.
- Hazard mitigation and wildfire risk reduction: Hewitt said MEMA’s hazard mitigation plan is under state review and expected to be adopted before the October/November deadline. MEMA described a post‑fire grant of approximately $2.7 million to cut hazardous fuels and a separate award supporting 32 generator sites under disaster funding. The agency is piloting a wildfire fuels‑reduction program and plans to contract out removal work.
Committee questions and themes
Committee members asked about exercises, Genesys Protect enrollment and zone notification logic, drone deployments for isolated communities, pre‑positioned contracts for debris hauling and porta‑toilets, radio redundancy and generator placement, whether Maui cases would be prioritized in interagency arrangements, and how MEMA will measure progress. Specific clarifications and commitments included:
- Staffing and prioritization: Hewitt said MEMA is filling positions and will proceed in smaller steps while expanding capacity; three island specialists are living in their assigned communities.
- Drones and isolated communities: MEMA expects drone assets and personnel to be located in isolated communities (Molokai, Lanai and East Maui) to provide rapid situational awareness and damage assessment.
- Grants and contracts: MEMA is managing grant funds for generators and fuels reduction; initial fuels work will be contracted out and prioritized to reduce risk at the wildland‑urban interface.
- Public education and apps: MEMA plans a public information campaign, airport signage and school outreach to increase adoption of Genesys Protect and MEMA alerts; the agency also plans exercises that integrate schools and community partners.
Outcome
After extensive Q&A and public testimony limited to the presentation, Committee Chair Tamara Paulton proposed three‑minute rounds of follow‑up questions and, later, deferred the item for additional consideration. "If there are no objections, the chair will defer this item," the chair stated; committee members registered no objections and the item was deferred for future reporting.
Speakers quoted or referenced in this article are listed in the article’s speaker section.
