Why Experts Are Battling to Save Maui's 150-Year-Old Banyan Tree

An ancient and sacred tree on Maui was among the casualties of the wildfires that have scorched the island over the past week.

In the wake of the brutal fire, the famous banyan tree, located in the historic town of Lahaina, can be seen blackened and burned in images taken in the charred remains of the town.

Experts and arborists are now trying desperately to save the tree.

The tree is a 150-year-old landmark of the island, planted in the then-capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii after being brought to the island from India in 1873, marking the fiftieth anniversary of a Protestant mission arriving there. It has since become a locally important site, sprawling a huge area and growing to a height of 60 feet, and is considered one of the largest specimens in the world.

"It is listed as an Exceptional Tree by the County of Maui which gives it protections similar to an historic designated building," Kimberly Flook, the deputy executive director of the Lahaina Restoration Foundation, told Newsweek.

"As a 150-year-old tree in the center of the historic town, it has been a natural gathering place through the years. It has hosted luaus, festivals, hula demonstrations, picnics, war memorials, etc. over its lifespan. It is even lit each December as the town's unique holiday tree. On a less formal level, locals and visitors alike have enjoyed its shade and benches as well as the sound of the mynah birds in its branches every evening."

Banyans are thought to fare badly against fire, due to their thinner bark allowing flames to reach the living cells within the wood. This tree was badly burned in the wildfires, leaving its canopy and leaves scorched and its bark blackened, but there is hope that it may be saved.

"When you see black, that means it is charred, burned; it's carbonized, and we have a big problem," Kevin Eckert, founder and president of the nonprofit conservation group Arbor Global in nearby Oahu, told the Scientific American. "I did not see [char] in the very limited, very few photos. We're not out of the woods by a long shot, but there is some hope."

The tree is now being tended to by experts, who hope to save the ancient tree from demise.

"A team of arborists were able to survey the tree and put together an immediate care plan, which is being instituted by local construction companies that have access to the area during this crisis. We are doing everything possible to give it the best chance to survive," Flook said.

The human death toll of the wildfires now stands at 111, with over a thousand people still missing. The Lahaina fire is responsible for the majority of the deaths, spanning around 2,170 acres, while other fires also sparked across the island at the same time, burning a total of around 2,200 structures, the majority of which were residential.

One of the other fires, in the Upcountry region, is suspected to have been started by a tree falling onto power lines, after security camera footage at the Maui Bird Conservation Center shows a bright flash in the woods at the same time that the power grid experienced a major incident.

As of Tuesday, the Lahaina fire was 85 percent contained by firefighters, the Upcountry fire was 75 percent contained, and two others on Maui are 100 contained, and extinguished. On another Hawaiian island, Oahu, another unrelated wildfire has broken out.

The death toll is expected to further climb in the coming days, with rescue teams only having searched for bodies and survivors in 38 percent of the affected territory so far. The deceased have now begun to be identified.

"No one has ever seen this that is alive today – not this size, not this number, not this volume," Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said in a statement on Wednesday. "And we're not done.

"Realize that the responders that are going out there are recovering their loved ones and members of their families."

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