Representatives from fire organizations statewide are at a conference this week in Reno about minimizing and managing wildfire threats.

Preventing the next Lahaina is a community responsibility that will take incentives and penalties, Hawaii’s leading fire experts told hundreds of people at the Wildland Urban Interface Conference on Wednesday in Nevada.

“A lot of the community just thinks the fire department takes care of all things fire. But that’s not right. A cohesive strategy involves everyone,” Maui Fire Chief Brad Ventura told the crowd. “We all have to be involved to really make our communities fire safe.”