Falling tree damages school playground, causes outage in Waimea

Falling tree damages school playground, causes outage in Waimea

By Carolyn Lucas-Zenk

Stephens Media

Powerful winds toppled an approximately 100-foot eucalyptus tree Saturday, sending part of it crashing down onto Waimea Country School’s playground. It also brought down power, telephone and cable lines, as well as damaged a small play structure, fence and gate, Waimea resident and retired police captain Leningrad Elarionoff said Sunday.

The tree, about 30-inches in diameter, is located on county property and part of the Waimea Trails and Greenways project, known as Ke Ala Kahawai O Waimea. It may have been diseased because discoloration and decay were found at the scene, which was “littered with leaves and branches,” Elarionoff said.

Though beautiful, the fast-growing eucalyptus can be problematic and are sometimes referred to as “the widow maker” because of deaths caused by falling branches, Elarionoff said.

Fortunately, the tree fell late Saturday afternoon, outside of school hours, and no children or others were injured, Elarionoff said.

He hopes the county will evaluate the condition of the remaining eucalyptus along the nearly 5-mile-long multi-use path, which follows the meandering Waikoloa Stream and extends from Waimea’s Church Row to a future county park.

Eucalyptus were planted in the 1930s as windbreaks for local ranchers. Some residents in November 2011 winced at the county’s proposal to remove some of these nonnative trees along the path.

The National Weather Service in Honolulu had issued a wind advisory through Sunday evening for South Kohala areas, where 30 mph northeast winds, with gusts up to 50 mph, were expected. Officials warned winds this strong can bring down tree branches and make driving difficult, especially for high profile vehicles.

The tree caused an outage, affecting just two customers, around 2:30 p.m. Saturday. Hawaii Electric Light Co. crews quickly restored power by 6 p.m., said HELCO Distribution Manager Roger Keller.

Hawaiian Telcom and Oceanic Time Warner Cable crews were still working as of press time Sunday. Telephone and cable service should be restored by today, said Amy Salling, head of Waimea Country School.

The estimated costs of the damages to the fence, gate and plastic play structure designed for preschoolers have not been calculated, Salling said.

St. James’ Episcopal Church owns the school property. During the tree falling, a lady inside the church heard a loud crash and immediately reported it, Salling said.

“I’m just thankful that no one was hurt and for the quick response,” she said.

HELCO, Hawaiian Telcom and Oceanic Time Warner Cable crews have been piling the tree debris, which the school hopes to feed through a chipper and use as wood chips around the property, Salling said.

Donations of money and labor to replace the damaged items or to chip the wood would be greatly appreciated. Waimea Country School is a small, independent elementary school, with 43 students in kindergarten through sixth grade, Salling said.

To donate or for more information, call the school at 885-0067 or email asalling@waimeacountryschool.com.

Email Carolyn Lucas-Zenk at clucas-zenk@westhawaiitoday.com