KA PILI KAI Hoʻoilo 2025

The devastating impacts of the 2023 Maui wildfires remind us of the escalating and interconnected threats from changing weather patterns and human activities across Hawaiʻi and the Pacific. They also encourage us to build more resiliently to thrive in uncertain conditions. Drought and wildfire are not new in Hawaiʻi. Hawaiian history, recorded in ʻōlelo noʻeau and remembered by traditional knowledge, shows Pacific Island communities have long adapted to dry conditions. Growing up in Lāhainā, a land of intense sun, I remember witnessing many brush fires. Across Hawaiʻi, chronic drought conditions, historical land-use changes, conflicts over water rights, and other factors have created landscapes susceptible to drought and wildfires: half a percent of Hawaiʻi’s land area burns every year. We must continue to build on resilient strategies that integrate modern science with Indigenous knowledge for our, and our keikis’, futures. Now living in Honolulu, I work in disaster and community resilience, driven by a commitment to mitigate wildfire conditions across Hawaiʻi and motivated by the rebuilding efforts of Lāhainā, my home. In this issue, we explore impacts of, and adaptations to, the pressing environmental challenges in the Pacific of ubiquitous droughts and wildfires.

Cuong Tran, 2022 E. Gordon Grau Coastal and Marine Management Sea Grant Fellow;
Resilience Specialist on contract with Tellus Civic Science supporting NOAA Office for Coastal Management

Hoʻomanaʻo maila nā ahi hoʻopōʻino o 2023 ma Maui i ka piʻi mau ʻana o nā mea e makaʻu ai ma muli o ka loli ʻana o ke aniao me nā hana a kānaka ma Hawaiʻi nei a puni ka Moana Pākīpika. Paipai pū mailla ia pōʻino iā kākou e hoʻokahua me ka maikaʻi i mea e kohu ai ka nohona ma nā wahi i kūlanalana. ʻAʻole he mea hou ka wī me ke ahi ʻāhiu ma Hawaiʻi nei. Hōʻike ka moʻolelo Hawaiʻi, ma kona ʻano i paʻa ma ka ʻōlelo noʻeau me ka ʻike kuluma, i ka hoʻokohu lōʻihi ʻana a nā kaiāulu Pākīpika i nā wā maloʻo me ka wī. Uā hānai ʻia au ma Lahaina, he ʻāina o ka lā wela, a hoʻomanaʻo au i ka nui o nā ahi nāhelehele aʻu i ʻike maka ai. Ma muli o ka maloʻo mau, nā loli ʻana o ka hana ma ka ʻāina, ka hoʻopaʻapaʻa kuleana wai, a me nā kumu hihia ʻē aʻe, kupu pinepine ma nā ʻāina like ʻole a puni ka pae ʻāina ke kūlana pāwale o nā ʻāina like ʻole i ka pōʻino o ka wī me ke ahi: Pau i ke ahi kahi hapa pākeneta o ka ʻāina i kēlā me kēia makahiki. Pono kākou e hoʻomau i ka hoʻomōhala ʻana i nā ʻikena holu a hoʻokohu, e ʻanoni ana i ka ʻike ʻepekema me ka ʻike kupuna, i palekana ai ka nohona o kākou, a o ka wā e hiki mai ana. Ma koʻu noho ʻan ama Honolulu i kēia wā, hana au ma ka ʻoihana pale pōʻino, i hōʻeu ʻia maila e koʻu hoʻoikaika ʻana e hoʻēmi i ka weliweli me ka pōʻino o ke ahi lapa a puni Hawaiʻi, a hoʻoulu ʻia e nā hanana e kūkulu hou iā Lahaina, kuʻu home aloha. Ma kēia pukana o Ka Pili Kai, ʻimi noelo mākou i nā hopena o nā pilikia koʻikoʻi o ka wī kūmau me ke ahi ʻā wale ma ka Pākīpika, pū nō me nā hana hoʻokohu a hoʻonā paha i ia mau pilikia weliweli.

Translation by
Puakea Nogelmeier, PhD, Polopeka Welo, Professor Emeritus of Hawaiian Language,
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and Luna Hoʻokō, Awaiaulu

On the Cover

This aerial image shows Guam’s badlands, which are large areas of eroded, bare soil in southern Guam that contribute significant sediment to waterways and threaten coral reefs. Droughts exacerbate badland expansion by causing desiccation and dieback of vegetation, increasing wildfire risk, and preventing soil recovery, leading to even worse erosion. Climate change is projected to increase the frequency and severity of these dry periods, worsening the badlands problem on Guam. Some Guam scientists and local organizations are working to reforest the worst badlands. Courtesy of the University of Guam Drone Corps

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