By Emergency tree trimming briefly closes bay Sunday morning
Haunama Bay was closed for several hours Sunday morning for emergency tree trimming. A county lifeguard claims the work should have been done weeks ago and he was injured because of the delay.When Haunama Bay reopened mid-Sunday morning, the coconut trees that line the popular bay had been trimmed. Loose fronds were removed and the growing fruit was gone.
As usual, many in the crowd picked a prime spot in the shade of the swaying trees.
The same spot over the past few weeks would have come with coconuts which littered the ground after they fell from high above.
"When we see stuff like that we'll go up to them and tell them, 'You may want to move away from the coconut trees'. Visitors don't see it. They're on vacation, they don't see hazards," said lifeguard Harold Teshima.
Teshima said the lifeguards saw the danger and let the city know weeks ago.
"Whoever was supposed to cut those trees, they didn't take it serious. They didn't cut the trees when they should have been cut. These are good sized coconuts that have been falling," said Teshima.
Teshima found out just how dangerous the growing coconuts could be while working at his lifeguard tower on Friday.
"I went downstairs and the next thing I know my partner was telling me to sit back down, I reached up and felt blood dripping down to my nose," said Teshima.
The crack with a coconut knocked him out and split open his forehead. Fortunately fellow lifeguards were right there.
"They packaged me and called EMS. They took me to Queen's Medical Center where they ran me through some tests, and a CAT scan. I ended up having a concussion," stated Teshima.
The veteran lifeguard would normally be working at Haunama Bay on a Sunday,
instead he is at home dealing with the nausea and headaches from his injury.
As he wonders how long those effects will last, Teshima realizes even though it's bad for him it could have been a lot worse.
"If it didn't happen to me, it could have happened to a child or an infant. It could have been fatal for them, it could have fatal for me. Luckily it hit me on the forehead instead of straight center on the top of my head," said Teshima.
Lifeguarding is a very physical job, and injuries aren't uncommon, but Teshima said he never expected this type of injury.
"We bring people in through high surf and dangerous shore breaks and reefs. We expect to get injured it comes with the job, but the injury I have now doesn't come with the job. It is something that should have been prevented," said Teshima.
The city did not mention Teshima's injury as the reason for the emergency closure and tree trimming. Instead it cited damage from Hurricane Ana as the reason why the work could not wait until Tuesday, which is when Hanauma Bay is normally closed.
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