News

Aug 18, 2023

Tree in Makawao falls onto vehicle and electric pole causing damages to local businesses

Multimedia Journalist Officials are investigating what caused a tree to fall on a vehicle and electric poles in upcountry, knocking out power to thousands. MAKAWAO, Hawaii (KITV4)-- Police are

Multimedia Journalist

Officials are investigating what caused a tree to fall on a vehicle and electric poles in upcountry, knocking out power to thousands.

MAKAWAO, Hawaii (KITV4)-- Police are investigating a tree that fell onto a vehicle and electric pole on Makawao Avenue in Upcountry Maui at 444 Makawao Avenue.

This left thousands without power on Monday.

According to a witness, a tree took down power lines which started a small fire along the road by the horse stables.

Public works, HECO, Hawaiian Tel and Spectrum were on scene to remove the tree, truck and power lines.

The driver of the truck was taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center to receive treatment. MPD says he is in stable condition.

The accident happened right outside the Makawao Veterinary Clinic and Haku Baldwin Center. Employees heard the loud boom, ran outside then noticed a small fire had started.

Employees say they're thankful for first responders and the community's help.

"First responders were there so quick and we couldn't thank them enough for what they did because if they didn't get there, its an older place and could have gone south pretty quickly" shares Trevor Natividad, the lead receptionist at Makawao Veterinary Clinic.

Horses at Haku Baldwin Center were shaken up from what happened and some were even trying to escape their fences, but workers say luckily no one was injured.

"Our veterinarians were right there so they were able to check out horses and make sure, we always think about smoke inhalation when there are horses and any injuries they may have when they're trying to escape so all the horses were fine" shares the program director, Chrissy Stout.

Haku Baldwin Center says most of the area has been cleaned up but they are left with some damages, including a broken fence.

There is no explanation for the cause at this time, but a resident who lives near the tree says a local arborist will do an assessment soon to see why the tree may have fallen.

The resident also says he reached out to the county to see if he or the county owns the property where the tree was located, but he is still waiting for a response.

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Multimedia Journalist