Maui mayor shares takeaways from wildfire summit in California | News [Video]

WAILUKU, Hawai’i (Island News) — Maui Mayor Richard Bissen shared his key takeaways from a wildfire conference in California he and other county officials attended. 

One of the most valuable gains from the After the Fire Summit, Bissen said, was building connections with leaders from other communities who also experienced devastating wildfires. 

“They were able to tell us where we were going and where we were heading and most of it was very, very positive as far as encouraging us to stay on the path that we’re currently on,” Bissen said. 

For Bissen, one of the most memorable parts of the conference was learning about how communities plan their neighborhoods to mitigate wildfire risk, which includes using fire-resistant building material — even down to the paint used — that prevents …