Hawaiʻi has hired its first state fire marshal in more than 45 years, bringing in Dori Booth from Arizona to oversee fire prevention in the aftermath of the wildfire that destroyed much of Lahaina.

Gov. Josh Green announced Booth’s appointment Monday, almost two years after that fire exposed just how vulnerable the island state is to a massive, wind-driven blaze. Triggered by a downed power line that ignited dry, overgrown brush, the fire destroyed more than 2,200 structures and killed more than 100 people.

“The lessons from the Maui wildfires are still fresh, and our responsibility is clear: We must do everything in our power to prevent future tragedies,” Booth said in a news release. “That means stronger coordination, smarter planning, and a relentless focus on community safety.”

Green said in the news release that the mission of the fire marshal is “nothing short of transformative. We are rebuilding an entire fire safety infrastructure at the state level, and Dori is at the center of it.”

Booth’s first priority, according to Green, will be ensuring the implementation of 10 recommendations made by the Attorney General’s Office in its final report on the Lahaina wildfire. They include addressing gaps in fire regulations and fire codes, ensuring better management of fire-prone vegetation on now-unmanaged lands, educating the public about wildfire risks and fire safety, and working with utility providers to make infrastructure safer.

But her responsibilities will extend far beyond those recommendations — everything from fire codes to fireworks. Among her tasks: Starting the office from scratch in the Department of Law Enforcement and hiring seven staffers, including fire inspectors and investigators.

Her appointment comes after state lawmakers worked over two legislative sessions to revive the state fire marshal’s office, which was dissolved in 1979. Lawmakers passed a bill last year reestablishing the office, but it didn’t provide enough funding and staffing.

They addressed those issues this year with House Bill 1064, which awaits the governor’s signature.

Her annual salary is $206,000 for 2025 and 2026, $80,000 more than what was initially proposed.

Fire protection advocates, who lobbied for the office’s revival before the devastating fires in Lahaina, celebrated Booth’s appointment in interviews with Civil Beat.

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Elizabeth Pickett, co-executive director of the Hawaiʻi Wildfire Management Organization, said Booth came highly endorsed. She brings decades of experience in fire protection in Arizona, including working on fire regulations and standards and supporting community-led fire protection efforts.

Booth comes to Hawaiʻi from the Sedona Fire District, where she was chief of its community risk reduction division. She also worked for the Phoenix Fire Department for more than 17 years.

A U.S. Army veteran, Booth sits on various national fire standards and regulation committees, including those dedicated to fire sprinkler standards and the wildland-urban interface.

Such areas, where wildfire-prone landscapes abut communities, are where “Hawaiʻi has long needed to up its game,” Pickett said. “We’ve long needed codes and standards to meet the level of risk that we face.”

The state fire marshal’s office will work with the State Fire Council, which is made up of Hawaiʻi’s county and state-level fire chiefs. The council, formed when the office of the fire marshal was eliminated, is primarily responsible for the state fire code.

The fire marshal’s office will enforce fire codes in state facilities, filling a decades-old regulatory gap, and will advise the council on amendments to the state fire codes.

Big Island fire chief Kazuo Todd, who chairs the State Fire Council, said the state’s fire chiefs supported Booth’s appointment. The council proposed reviving the state fire marshal’s office in 2021.

For the time being, the Hawaiʻi Wildfire Management Organization will keep working to implement recommendations made by the Attorney General’s Office in its report on the Lahaina fires.

“The next six months,” Todd said, “will be a critical period.”

Civil Beat’s community health coverage is supported by the Atherton Family Foundation.