A large portion of Akaka Falls State Park remains closed. ADVERTISING A large portion of Akaka Falls State Park remains closed. It likely will take months before damage from tree trimming done in February is repaired. The park was closed
A large portion of Akaka Falls State Park remains closed.
It likely will take months before damage from tree trimming done in February is repaired. The park was closed briefly during the tree trimming because of the risk trees or branches would fall — and they did. The pathway to the Kahuna Falls lookout has been closed since.
“The trees that were cut down are albizia (Falcataria moluccana) trees that have caused extensive damage to portions of Hawaii Island,” says a poster displayed for park visitors. “The cut trees were approximately 150-180 feet in height and the damage caused when they fell clearly demonstrates the potential danger if they were not removed.”
Railings were bent and required removal. In another area, a stairwell and sidewalk looked afterward the way they would if a scoop shovel lifted sections up and dropped them.
Akaka Falls, near Honomu, drops “442 feet into a stream-eroded gorge,” the state Department of Land and Natural Resources says on its website.
As predicted by park officials, the rain forest surrounding the albizia tree limbs and trunks is fast recovering and soon will cover even the largest of them. Repairs are being funded by “the tree contractor’s insurance company.”
Closure of the park’s longest — and most strenuous — portion of trails has caused some consistent park users to express frustration. But visitors continued to stream in Monday as if nothing changed — possibly because the main attraction, a close view of Akaka Falls, remains reachable.
Milyn Christopher, operator of Milyn Akaka Pit Stop, said she’s seeing fewer tourists but attributed that to “pretty much because of the season.” The Pit Stop offers ready-to-eat fresh, locally grown coconuts, bananas, mangos and other fruits in season.
Changes at the park seemingly haven’t affected the normal course of business, Christopher said.
How long will it take to get the damaged walkways at Akaka Falls — too close to a dangerous cliff to walk around — repaired?
“It says six months over there,” said park worker Chad Okumoto, nodding toward the poster. “But I think it’s going to be longer.”
Okumoto said surveys of the tree damage have not yet been completed.
Hawaii Parks District Superintendent Dean Takebayashi said in March that the rain forest regrew in six months the last time albizia trees were cut a few years ago.
He said he expects the same regrowth will happen this time and within months, park visitors will be hard-pressed to even notice that trees were removed.
Albizia trees are fast-growing, prone to spontaneous limb falls and susceptible to insect damage and disease.
“They began growing in the park with seeds that were blown into the park by the wind,” the poster tells visitors.
Visitors are forewarned that “Kahuna Falls is not visible at any point along the trails since it is actually below the trail and cannot be accessed at any time.”
Email Jeff Hansel at jhansel@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
