24-05-2025
Xeric plants could help Hawaii wildfire season
HONOLULU (KHON2) — It's Wildfire Community Preparedness Month, and folks can do a lot to protect their community and land.
University of Hawaiʻi develops new map to detect wildfire risk
The Honolulu Board of Water Supply encourages Oʻahu residents to grow the xeric plants that are used in Leeward vegetative firebreaks.
'One important tip is to make sure that there are no low-hanging branches, or dry or dead plant material around the home. To start, it's easiest to remove dry and dead material out to 5 feet from the home. Once that's done, though, continue to move outward – to even the scale of the neighborhood to really minimize the chance of fire spreading,' Board of Water Supply Community Relations Specialist Michele Harman said.
May is also Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Awareness Month. They go hand-in-hand since invasive species, especially grasses, are responsible for increasing fire cycles in Hawaiʻi.'Many invasive grasses like fountain grass and guinea grass increase fire risk,' said Harman. 'BWS partners with organizations to help install green firebreaks – or kipuka, or islands of green plants that break up areas of fire-prone invasive grasses to decrease the intensity and spread of wildfire. These green firebreaks include culturally important plants that provide food, medicine, lei material, and native species habitat. Our partners, such as the Koʻolau and Waiʻanae Mountains Watershed Partnerships and Mohala i ka Wai have had great success growing xeric plants that hold space and stay green in invaded fire-prone ecosystems. A WMWP roadside firebreak helped stop a Waiʻanae fire from spreading in 2018. Since 2018, WMWP with their community volunteers have expanded their firebreaks, and the firebreaks are doing really well, despite overall low rainfall.'
Harman added that the plants used in green firebreaks would make great choices for people to grow around their homes.
'There are a lot of great options. Trees include wiliwili, hala, kou, ulu, bele, edible hibiscus or spinach, soursop, and citrus. Some of the trees can get quite big, so homeowners need to make sure they have the space for the trees above and below ground. Smaller plants include aweoweo, aalii, naupaka kahakai, ulei, and iliee. We don't have flammability numbers for most plants, but these firebreak plants tend to stay green with little care. Research has shown that the native shrub, aweoweo, has high water content, low flammability, and is resistant to fountain grass invasion. In Hawaiian thinking, the plant is pili with, or connected to, the aweoweo fish because it can have red on the stem and a fishy smell. Ladybugs seem to love the aweoweo that we've had at the xeriscape garden. All of these tough plants won't need much water once established, but they generally do need well-draining soil and a lot of sun.'
There are plenty of opportunities to learn more.
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'I always recommend participating in volunteer days with mālama aina organizations – organizations that are growing plants in habitats similar to where people want to plant. There are a lot of great websites, too. Plant Pono, the Pacific Fire Exchange, and the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization are a few helpful sources. BWS has a beginner native plant guide as well.'
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