Hawaii Civil Defense Administrator Talmadge Magno Retires

Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency Administrator Talmadge Magno announced his retirement effective August 1, ending a tenure that began in 2017. Magno, a native of Mountain View on the island, previously served as a National Park Service ranger, including eight years as chief ranger at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

During his civil‑defense leadership he coordinated responses to multiple hazards, most notably the 2018 lower East Rift Zone eruption and summit collapse of Kīlauea volcano, which prompted a federal disaster declaration. His experience also spans wildland fires, hurricanes, floods, landslides and the COVID‑19 pandemic, drawing on earlier work with the US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and other agencies.