One of four giant banyan trees on the King Street Catholic Cemetery keeled over Aug. 7, just before 6 p.m., a victim of the gusty weather that hit Oahu last week.
Deacon Keith Cabiles, who oversees the diocese’s cemeteries, said he was alerted around 6:05 p.m. by the general manager of One Archer Lane, the condo high-rise that borders the cemetery.
The only known victims of the uprooting are the white Hawaiian fairy terns, the official bird of Honolulu, that reside in the trees.
Daniel Gefroh, who lives on the Diamond Head side of the cemetery, said the treefall “sounded like an explosion and filled the entire air space above the cemetery with dust for 10-15 minutes.” (Photo courtesy of Dann Ebina)