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| Beloved Banyan Tree That Burned in Lahaina Fires Shows Signs of Recovery | Beloved Banyan Tree That Burned in Lahaina Fires Shows Signs of Recovery |
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| Over the decades, residents have gathered, feasted and proposed marriage beneath the 150-year-old banyan tree in the downtown area of Lahaina, Hawaii. But last month, after a fast-moving blaze tore through the town in West Maui, scorching the tree, some feared that it might not live on. | Over the decades, residents have gathered, feasted and proposed marriage beneath the 150-year-old banyan tree in the downtown area of Lahaina, Hawaii. But last month, after a fast-moving blaze tore through the town in West Maui, scorching the tree, some feared that it might not live on. |
| Then, green shoots began to unfurl around the trunk of the community’s sacred giant; others sprouted from its branches between brown and withered leaves. | Then, green shoots began to unfurl around the trunk of the community’s sacred giant; others sprouted from its branches between brown and withered leaves. |
| This week, Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources shared a video that showed bright green leaves on the tree, describing them as “positive signs for its long-term recovery.” The department noted the work of arborists volunteering their time and expertise to nurse the banyan back to health. | This week, Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources shared a video that showed bright green leaves on the tree, describing them as “positive signs for its long-term recovery.” The department noted the work of arborists volunteering their time and expertise to nurse the banyan back to health. |
| “When we saw the first new leaves starting to pop on the canopy of the tree, that’s when we got really, really excited,” said Chris Imonti, a landscape contractor who has spent the past several weeks carefully tending to the banyan. For many locals, he added, its regrowth symbolizes “hope, and maybe some normalcy down the line.” | “When we saw the first new leaves starting to pop on the canopy of the tree, that’s when we got really, really excited,” said Chris Imonti, a landscape contractor who has spent the past several weeks carefully tending to the banyan. For many locals, he added, its regrowth symbolizes “hope, and maybe some normalcy down the line.” |
| On Aug. 8, wildfires swept across the island of Maui and killed at least 97 people. Most of Lahaina, a community of 13,000 that was once the capital of the Hawaiian kingdom, was destroyed. | |
| The tree, a Ficus benghalensis, or banyan fig, was just eight feet tall when it was planted in 1873 to commemorate a Protestant mission to Lahaina a half-century earlier. Years of careful tending by residents helped the tree grow, according to the Lahaina Restoration Foundation, a nonprofit preservation organization that describes the tree as the largest of its kind in the United States. Towering more than 60 feet near an old courthouse, the banyan tree has become a cherished landmark for locals. |