In wake of wildfires, DLNR seeks to debunk misinformation tree maintenance

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Don’t cut down healthy trees around your home.

The Department of Land and Natural Resources is sending that message to debunk misinformation in the wake of the maui wildfires.

DLNR says social media users are urging others to cut down trees to prevent flames from spreading. But the state says homeowners should only focus on clearing dead and dry brush.

Duane Sparkman, of the Lahaina Treescape Restoration Project, said many people are being “reactive” following the disaster but that cutting down healthy trees will actually do harm.

“What we’re finding is the house that burned the tree, the tree did not burn the house,” he said. “It’s the heat load coming off of these buildings that are actually drying these trees out.”

Experts say an estimated 20,000 trees burned in the Lahaina disaster.