LEILANI ESTATES, Hawaii: The Puna subdivision of Leilani Estates spent the weekend dealing with fallen trees and power outages, after high winds blew over Hawaii Island.
We spoke to Leilani-resident Lorraine Hubbard who told us she has been without power all day.
The Hawaii Electric Light Company said that due to extensive damage, customers in Hawaiian Beaches, Hawaiian Shores, Nanawale, Leilani Estates, and Lanipuna are advised to prepare for the possibility of extended outages through this week.
…Ring all Albesia trees and let them die down slowly….
That is a terrible idea for larger trees overhanging roads and power lines. There’s a reason the BIISC does not recommend the Milestone solution for trees near infrastructure. A foot thick limb devoid of water is still very dangerous from albizia heights. You’d be responsible for any car or power line damaged in such an instance. If every albizia on the side of the road is girdled, that will likely happen far more often. I’ve heard that arborists are less likely to take on the removal of a poisoned or girdled tree as well (would be nice if someone can confirm). I’m all in favor of taking care of the smaller trees now, though. But the larger ones need to be removed professionally and safely. No one has died from an albizia, yet. Don’t be the first by rushing to a haphazard and short-sighted solution. Also, it’s spelled “albizia”, with an “i” and a “z”. The scientific name is Falcataria moluccana. Please leave the largest and most glorious trees far from infrastructure alone. Aloha.
What is bad is the near total lack of response by HELCO this weekend. All weekend there was one- one Helco truck working on the lines. There were some tree guys- but the lack of HELCO trucks working on this problem is downright criminal. Need to fire a manager or two to wake them up.