HILO (KHON2) – On July 12, a huge tree toppled over in downtown Hilo on Kilauea Ave.
Hawaii County officials immediately closed down the road to clear debris from snapped utility lines as well as tree debris.
Kilauea Ave was opened a few days after, but the large fallen tree remained blocked by fencing.
Then, on July 20, crews were called back to the area and first responders made a grim discovery.
“I was there yesterday as they were trying to get to the bodies,” said Hawaii County Mayor Kimo Alameda. “It’s a very delicate situation, both for our first responders and the families, so it’s just sad.”
Police say the remains of two adult women were found beneath the fallen tree.
Mayor Alameda said he asked himself if the county could have done more when it fell nine days ago.
“There’s water next to the church and we had our first responders go in and dive to see if someone might be in the water, and we had infrared technology that would pick up warmth if there were bodies,” he explained. “First responders talked to neighbors and we didn’t have any indication that someone was in that tree.”
Officials have not released the identities of the two women.
The tree is state-designated as an ‘exceptional tree,’ which is similar to a building being designated as historical. For trees, it means it’s protected from improper trimming and unnecessary removal. And on the State’s Outdoor Circle website, it lists the owner of the Weeping Wig/Chinese Weeping Banyan tree on Kilauea Ave as the State of Hawaii.
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The state DLNR declined to comment as the incident is still under investigation.
The cause is also under investigation, but Mayor Alameda said he spoke to an arborist the day the tree fell.
“It was on a slope, the water [pond] is on the church side and the roots tend to go towards the water, so it leads to pulling on one side,” he explained.
State Rep. Sue Keohokapu-Lee Loy said the county does have an arborist committee, but no concerns were raised by them regarding the tree.
Property tax records show the the tree on state land, and where it fell is on Kamehameha Schools property.
In a statement, a Kamehameha Schools spokesperson said:
“We are deeply saddened by the discovery of human remains at the site where a banyan tree fell in Hilo last week. We offer our aloha and pule to the ʻohana affected by this tragedy. We are in communication with the tenant, Calvary Chapel Hilo, Hawai‘i County Police Department and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, and are fully cooperating with them.”
“We mahalo Hawaiʻi County, first responders and utility crews who acted quickly to ensure the safety of the community following the fall of the beloved banyan tree, which stood on a property adjacent to Kamehameha Schools’ ‘aina. We understand that the building on our property was damaged as a result of the fallen tree.”
“It’s a complex situation,” said Mayor Alameda. “But the state and Kamehameha Schools is going to need to figure it out because we need to have that tree trimmed and discarded.”
Mayor Alameda says he’ll have meetings with staff to ensure this doesn’t happen again with similar sized trees around Hilo.
“Whether it’s the state, county, private land owners, I think its time to have a deeper conversation about how we manage various large trees that run a safety risk,” said Rep. Keohokapu-Lee Loy.