Hawaii SAR CON

03/06/2026

03/06/2026

After years of work, advocacy, and persistence… we may finally be seeing progress.🚨‼️

This week, Hawaii House Rep Chris Todd, Chair of the House Finance Committee, shared with the media that funding may be included in the House draft of the state budget this week for a State Search And Rescue Coordinator — placed within the Office of the Governor —Temporarily for Special Purposes to:
📍 Evaluate SAR training and capabilities
📍 Develop an integrated statewide SAR response framework
📍 Develop a mutual aid system across counties and agencies

This progress represents years of collaboration, persistence, and commitment to public safety. 🚁🌊🏔️

When this happens, it will be a major step forward for public safety in Hawaiʻi. 🚁🏝️

🙏🏽Mahalo to the many SAR teams, volunteers, first responders, legislators, and community members who have supported this effort over the years. Your voices matter. 🤝

On our path moving forward,
it’s critical that this position is implemented thoughtfully with the proper experience, depth of knowledge and understanding to execute the mission.

We remain committed to building a safer, more coordinated Hawaiʻi. ⏱️❤️

⛑️

03/02/2026

When it comes to Search and Rescue (SAR), the difference between life and death is minutes. ⏱️

If you live in Hawaiʻi:

• 📞 Call the Representative and Senator who chair the committees hearing HB2554 & SB2938.
• 📋 Ask them to place the State Search and Rescue Coordinator (SSARC) bill on the agenda immediately.
• ⚖️ Tell them this is about life and death — not politics.

Search and Rescue is not theoretical.
It is not political.
It is operational.
It is the DIFFERENCE between life and death. 💔

SB2938 & HB2554 (🔗 in Bio for testimony) establish a Hawaiʻi State Search and Rescue Coordinator (SSARC) within the Office of the Governor — temporarily for special purposes — until functional to determine the best permanent placement for the position. This model worked very well for the Office of Wellness and Resilience in 2022.

On August 8, 2023, during the 2023 Maui wildfires 🔥, if we had a SSARC, there could have been an opportunity for cross-island/county assets to be immediately coordinated and deployed — before the situation escalated out of control — to a federal level! ⛔️

Imagine how that outcome may have been different — compared to over $5.5B in direct losses, in addition to billions more in economic impact, future long-term medical & mental health care costs. ❤️‍🩹🏥⚕️

Resources may have reached Lahaina sooner. 🚨🚒🚁
The fire may not have spread as quickly.

Coordination saves time.
Time saves lives. ❤️

A SSARC would have been CRITICAL in the IMMEDIATE AFTERMATH of the wildfires, providing coordinated support to the community north of the burn zone on the west side of Maui — who were in dire need. 🆘💔

A request for an Executive Order was made to Governor Green to implement this urgently needed position and we were told legislative support is required.

That legislation is now before committee‼️📝

And as of today — it is NOT on the JAH agenda prior to 2/19/26 cutoff — If HB2554 is not heard by Thursday, it dies‼️

If we do not come together and rally as a community, we will face the consequences again.

Minutes matter.
Lives depend on it. 🚨

02/09/2026

SWIFT WATER RESCUE: Report of truck with a male within stuck in the river at Honokohau Valley. The male is unable to get out. Ladder 3/MPD/ Rescue 10 are responding.

07/18/2025

07/16/2025

“Search and rescue in the United States is 99% volunteer,” Chris Boyer, the executive director at the National Association for Search and Rescue, said. Without federal help or state capability, our current system “offloads everything to the volunteer.”

https://thebarbedwire.com/2025/07/12/texas-flood-volunteers-fema-climate-change/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR57AlKx773qaDEjUl4s-HWQGa7_YDba1Wi2kJI_s0riPdmVgKx5Q-NiuBIbng_aem_QM3buv4t6T7OLSU6F1Aaaw

Thanks to climate change, harsher flood events will require more rescue operations, resources, and rebuilding. But the current system “offloads everything to the volunteer,” says Chris Boyer, the executive director at the National Association for Search and Rescue. “The feds say ‘it’s not ...

07/16/2025

SARCON 2025 is THIS Friday and Saturday, July 18-19, 2025!

Don't worry! It's virtual, so you don't have to worry about last minute travel. Just log in from wherever you are at!

There are still some tickets left, but don't delay!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sarcon-2025-tickets-1362104444059?aff=oddtdtcreator

03/22/2025

03/22/2025

Looking for a conference that doesn't require you to travel? Want to learn from experts in the field of SAR?

Save the date for the Virtual NASAR Virtual SARCON 2025 coming July 18-19, 2025*!

*Registration and agenda to be released as we get closer to the date.

03/22/2025

Learn more about tracking and reading sign as a part of our education programs, such as FUNSAR, or take your training to the next level with our Tracking Certification.

www.nasar.org

04/18/2024

Here is the Maui Fire Departments after action report. Please share what you learn in the comments! 🙏🏽🤙🏽

https://www.mauicounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/146279/2023-Wildfire-After-Action-Report?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0BMQABHTHe-ZjDcFAMbtY-ndKB5yykKns3SodFt0GKa9R_7nNIQgkPJdBfeX-zdA_aem_AdM4gyQSzIG-Cyenlf_GApAlV9lRM8-XmDSpNNoxi6_ZUCjCRxdCsDRISLL_bBNFbqs