Not even a year after a historic wildfire that devastated the island of Maui in Hawai’i, residents on another of the state’s islands were put under an evacuation order earlier this week as a blaze put around 200 homes at risk.

What happened?

The rural island of Kauai witnessed a huge wildfire between Hanapepe and Kaumakani that put residents and businesses at risk.

According to the Guardian, firefighters were able to contain the blaze, but 1.56 square miles of land was destroyed, as well as one building.

The incident would have been triggering for the island nation’s residents, who would have been aware of and likely affected by the wildfire on Maui in August 2023, which killed over 100 people and displaced thousands. Approximately 3,000 buildings were destroyed, too.

Why is this wildfire event so concerning?

Considering the damage caused on Maui, the threat of wildfires is all too real for Hawaiians. 

According to analysis from Clay Trauernicht for the University of Hawai’i, shared by NBC News, fire frequency has been rising since the 1990s. The outlet’s report noted that as much land has been burned on the island in the last five years as the previous 20 combined. 

Allyson Earl, a fire researcher for the Hawai’i Wildfire Management Organization and the University of Hawai’i, told the publication that frequent and large fires are “now our new normal.”

With Hawaiian islands now featuring more flammable grasses because of invasive species and dry seasons becoming longer and drier as a result of global heating, these threats will only magnify if not dealt with appropriately.

What’s being done to prevent wildfires?

According to NBC News, wildfire preparations are being taken more seriously by the state, while organizations are trying to get the spread of flammable, invasive grasses under control — despite pushback from some landowners.

On a macro level, we all need to reduce the production of planet-warming pollution. Pollution exacerbates extreme weather events that increase the likelihood of wildfires, such as droughts.

We can achieve that by relying less on gas-guzzling cars, switching to pollution-free sources of energy, and by curbing our consumption of meat — which contributes to both high levels of pollution and results in land loss for the purposes of livestock grazing.

Wildfires aren’t just a risk to Hawaiians, either. They are a worldwide issue, from the Americas to Europe, and Asia to Oceania. We should all be concerned about our role in making them more common and severe, and making small lifestyle changes can deliver huge results.

For example, a study from clothing reseller ThredUp found that 22.8 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent can be reduced for every pound of clothes bought secondhand. 

Join our free newsletter for cool news and cool tips that make it easy to help yourself while helping the planet.

Luckily for Misty the puppy, a dog rescuer and rappeller named Kawika Singson was able to come to her rescue in a remote part of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Misty the puppy was in a remote are of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park when she got into a tight spot, literally.

Though it’s unclear exactly how it happened, Misty ended up at the bottom of narrow volcanic fissure that was 25 feet deep on June 9. She couldn’t get out and her owner couldn’t get down.

Luckily for Misty, a self-appointed dog rescuer and rappeller with no formal training named Kawika Singson is well-known on the Big Island. Her owner, who had heard about Singson through social media, reached out.

“There are like five volcanoes (on the island),” Singson, a former military man and avid athlete, recently told USA TODAY. “Some of these dogs, they end up wandering in large, very thin volcanic fissures − basically a crack in the ground that goes very deep.”

He added: “Not many people can actually go under.” But Singson can.

Dog rescuer drives 2 hours to Misty’s rescue

When Singson got the call about Misty’s plight, he knew he had to help. Misty’s owner did all he could to save Misty but found it impossible.

“They couldn’t even squeeze down to the crack,” Singson said. “They could hear the dog, but they could not see the dog.”

So Singson drove about two hours from where he was to the other side of the island before going into a dense forest area where Misty was trapped. When he arrived, he also could hear Misty but not see her.

“I put my lights on, and I got my ropes, and I somehow, I squeezed down into the crack, and I could see the dog down at the bottom,” Singson said. “She was about 25 feet down in the volcano and she was very anxious and looking up.”

Singson reaches bottom of crevice

Singson said that the crevice from where he entered the fissure was “extremely vertical,” and narrow.

Video that Singson took with his GoPro and shared with USA TODAY shows him rappelling slowly and squeezing down into the crevice, which appears just barely wider than Singson’s body.

When he arrives to the bottom, Misty is clearly distraught and whining. By that point she had been stuck in the crevice for about nine hours.

“She was scared,” Singson told Maui News. “Her paws were bloody cause she was trying to scratch her way out.”

Singson tried to comfort Misty as best he could, telling the Catahoula leopard dog: “Hey girl, it’s OK. It’s OK … You ready to go up, Misty?”

Singson was able to hook Misty up with a harness, and then people at the top were able to pull her to safety.

It was “pretty dramatic because it was pretty difficult getting down into it, even more difficult getting back out with the dog,” Singson said.

This was not Singson’s first dog rescue

Singson told USA TODAY that he has previously rescued at least six dogs, three of which were stuck in similar situations as Misty’s.

“Because I’ve done this several times before, I’ve learned what to bring in and not be afraid of tight spaces,” he said.

Simpson documents his adventures and rescue missions with his GoPro and Misty’s rescue was no different. The former military man is also a bit of local celebrity with his own TV show called “Everything Hawaii.”

Singson is not a formally trained rescuer. It’s something he does out of the goodness of his heart.

“I used to be in the military at one point, and I worked in construction for many years,” Singson says. “So I’m very athletic, very agile. These things, for me, they’re pretty easy … I’m not afraid to go down to try to get these dogs out.”

Misty’s owner, identified by local news outlets as a local man named Cody Gomes, told Island News that he gave Singson gas money for his long drive. Otherwise, Singson does the rescues for free.

“I told him, you know, ‘You’re very gifted and blessed because there’s not like a lot of people that would do what you do,’” Gomes told the station. “Especially out of the kindness of their heart. I had no words to explain how grateful and thankful I was.”

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X @saman_shafiq7.