Kauai County Council Committee Meeting: Briefing on Lahaina Fire Reports and Debate on Wildfire Building Ordinance (August 19, 2026)
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Kauai County Council Committee Meeting: Briefing on Lahaina Fire Reports and Debate on Wildfire Building Ordinance (August 19, 2026)
On August 19, 2026, the Kauaʻi County Council held a combined committee meeting (Planning Committee, Finance & Economic Development Committee, and Committee of the Whole) starting at 8:30 AM. The Planning Committee received a detailed briefing on the Lahaina Fire Incident Analysis Report (Phase Two) and Forward-Looking Report (Phase Three) and debated Bill No. 2998, which would establish wildfire and Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) standards for new construction. The Finance Committee approved Bill No. 2999 creating a special-duty police officer program fee account, and the Committee of the Whole approved prior meeting minutes.
Briefing on Lahaina Fire Reports
- Derek Alkonis (Senior Research Program Manager, Fire Safety Research Institute, Underwriters Laboratories) and Elizabeth Pickett (Co-Executive Director, Hawaiʻi Wildfire Management Organization) presented findings from their independent analysis of the August 8, 2023 Lahaina fire, which killed 102 people and destroyed over 2,000 structures.
- The briefing emphasized that wind-driven embers, not a moving fire front, were the primary cause of the conflagration. Only 200 yards of grass burned, but the community ignited due to ember intrusion and the lack of fire-resilient building materials and defensible space.
- Analysis revealed 84 findings and 140 recommendations, later distilled into 10 priority areas. Key vulnerabilities included combustible roofs, unprotected vents, wooden siding, dense vegetation near homes, and narrow evacuation routes. The presence of a 5-foot non-combustible perimeter, non-combustible siding, and tempered glazing were identified as critical mitigation measures.
- Presenters noted that Kauaʻi faces greater wildfire risk than 91% of U.S. counties, and that August is the peak fire month. The 2024 Hanapēpē Heights fire threatened a historic plantation camp, underscoring local vulnerability.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Doug Haig (representing Kauaʻi Habitat for Humanity) and Donna Rice (Board President) testified in support of Bill 2998, noting the board’s support for fire-resistant materials to improve safety and insurance affordability. They expressed confidence in the planning department’s responsiveness to affordable housing concerns and emphasized that the cost increase is modest.
- No other oral testimony was offered; written testimony received during lunch raised concerns about cost and water department impacts, which were acknowledged but not read aloud.
Discussion Items: Wildfire & WUI Ordinance (Bill 2998)
- Mayor Derek Kawakami introduced the bill as a proactive, science-based response to the Lahaina tragedy, stating the county learned from the disaster rather than reacting hastily. He acknowledged a modest increase in construction costs (approximately $6,700 per home, less than 2%) but called it a necessary investment in life safety.
- Fire Chief, EMA Director, and Planning Department staff detailed the ordinance’s requirements: class A roof, ember-resistant vents (1/8-inch mesh), 6-inch metal flashing at wall base, tempered glass, 5-foot non-combustible perimeter (gravel, stone, or concrete), and for subdivisions of 10+ units, defensible space standards (5–30 ft clearance) and second access evacuation routes.
- Cost study by Unlimited Construction showed actual material cost increase of only about $2/sq ft; the Department of Water proposed a facilities reserve charge (FRC) exemption of approximately $14,000 per new single-family home if the bill passes, effectively offsetting the added construction cost for most homes under 2,000 sq ft.
- Insurance expert Doug Green (Doki Wildfire Solutions) explained that the ordinance aligns with insurance industry demands for verified risk reduction at the parcel and neighborhood level. Without such standards, insurers may exit the market, leading to uninsurable homes, mortgage loss, and housing market instability.
- Council members raised concerns about: the financial impact of the FRC exemption on the water department (which is already struggling), the lack of a certification pathway for existing homes, the mandating of the 5-foot hardscape without alternatives (e.g., irrigated grass), and enforcement of defensible space in perpetuity. Councilmember Holland advocated for incentives over mandates and asked for more flexible options. Councilmember Coneshiro noted that Maui has not pursued a similar building code due to cost concerns, though they are working on vegetation regulations.
- Two amendments were adopted: (1) a clean-up amendment clarifying scope (only new additions require hardening, not whole house), updating screening language, and adding a requirement for annual review of standards by planning director, building chief, and fire chief; (2) an amendment changing the effective date from upon approval to July 1, 2027, to allow a transition period.
Committee of the Whole
- The minutes of the August 5, 2026 Committee of the Whole meeting were approved.
Key Outcomes
- Bill 2998 was deferred to the September 2, 2026 Planning Committee meeting to allow further discussion on remaining concerns (cost, water department impact, alternative compliance methods, and potential linkages to future certification programs).
- Bill 2999 (special-duty police officer program fee account) was approved by the Finance & Economic Development Committee without opposition.
- The Committee of the Whole approved the August 5, 2026 minutes.
- No action was taken on executive session items, which remain confidential.
Meeting Transcript
Morning, everyone. Welcome to today's committee meeting. Today is August 19th. We will start off with our planning committee. Mr. Bulasan. Hello, everyone. Welcome to I'd like to call the planning committee to order. Let the record reflect all members are present. Councilman Sure just stepped up just for a moment. We'll be right back. Item number PL two zero two six zero one communication from Committee Chair Bullisan requesting the presence of Derek Alcunis, Senior Research Program Manager, Fire Safety Underwriters Laboratory Research Institutes. Then Elizabeth Pickett, co-executive director, Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization to provide a briefing on the Lahaina Fire Incident Analysis Report phase two and the Lahaina Fire Forward Looking Report phase three and to share the implications for wildfire vulnerability and the built environment on COIN. Move to receive second. Move them seconded. Thank you so much for joining us today and being able to uh provide us this information. Um just uh so you know we'll all you'll do is you press this button here, and when it turns green, that means it's on. Um please introduce yourself first and then we'll um have you guys do your presentation. Members of the committee will do presentation first and then questions after. You have the floor. Well, good morning, committee. My name is Derek Alconis, I'm the senior research program manager for Fire Safety Research Institute as part of Underwriters Laboratory Institute. Um I come by way of assignment from our executive director, Dr. Steve Kerber, and also our director of research, Dr. Gavin Horn. We represent an independent safety research institute that does independent research on things such as community configurations, what we experienced in Lahaina in 2023, and then also what it's being exp what it was experienced in 2025 in Los Angeles were part of that as well. Elizabeth introduce herself. Um good morning, committee. It's nice to see you all again. Um thank you for having us. I'm the co-executive director of Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization. And if um if you've forgotten or you're not familiar, we're just we're uh statewide nonprofit hub of wildfire science and planning and mitigation programming and community programs. Okay, we can start the slides. We've been around since 1894, a long time, 130 years, uh under writers laboratory. And our research institute focus on addressing emerging and unresolved fire risks. But also community conflagrations, and we've been called in to do an analysis on the Lahaina fire and uh any three other fires that existed on August eighth that day. Um we also bring, you know, as as we get called upon to do these independent analyses, we bring a uh a multitude of different professionals from policy to engineers to um fire safety professionals, law enforcement folks, and uh and even people that have had experience with the legislature. And we bring them in to help us study the entire system because it's really important to not only look at the response of the incident, but more importantly, how can it be prevented? And what type of systems were in place at the time to prevent and to prepare for such an event. And so we roll back the clock quite a bit. And we investigate what existed in terms of policy procedure regulation, were they compliant with those best practices or evidence-based practices? When we came to Lahaina just after the incident, we understood that it was a obviously we all know it was a serious situation. 102 people lost their lives. Over 2,000 structures were destroyed. This was a significant configuration. And we felt the the criticality of making sure that we understood everything. And to line us up to make sure that we were on the right track. The first thing we do is we we talk to the locals on the ground, and we get a feel for who's doing research, who who was researching the system even before we got here. And that led us to Elizabeth Pickett as co-executive director of the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization. And what she provided was a lot of the data that existed before this event.
openpublica.com