Your editorial, “Legislature faces tough fire issues” (Star-Advertiser, Our View, Nov. 16), asks, “Where to begin?” The answer should be: government prioritizing reduction of wildfire hazards by requiring all landowners to reduce vegetation fuel load, eradicating invasive fuel-prone grass and shrubs in all lands surrounding towns and subdivisions.
That means enacting state laws and county ordinances to guide implementation by all landowners (“Take action to cut risks of wildfires,” Star-Advertiser, Our View, Nov. 17).
Reducing vegetation fuel load on unmanaged lands is paramount. Landowners also should maintain fuel breaks and firebreaks abutting human settlements. In sum, landowners should pay for the proper stewardship of their own lands — not the taxpayers.
Laws should provide for reimbursing urgent work done by government on private lands to keep the community safe from fire hazards. Fines should discourage noncompliance, and failure to comply with these regulations should result in severe fines, and civil and criminal penalties.
Luciano Minerbi
Ala Wai
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