An investigation has been started to find the person responsible for cutting down 17 maple trees in a Vancouver neighbourhood in early January.

According to the Vancouver Parks Board, the trees ranged from three to almost five metres in height and were cut down in the 500-block of West 29 Ave. sometime after midnight on Jan. 6 or 7. The 17 maples were then left lying on the ground.

The trees were planted in November 2010 and cost $500 each to plant. A resident in the area called in to report the damage; which amounts to $20,000.

Howard Normann, the park board’s manager of urban forestry, says whoever cut these trees down knew what they were doing and the whole incident took about 10 to 15 minutes.

“Nobody actually witnessed anything, they didn’t hear anything,” Normann toldGlobal News.

“I’m assuming, and I don’t have the proof of that, but it was somebody with a rechargeable saw, thin blade, very smooth cut on these trees. So they just walked down one side knee height and just wang, bang, bang, all the way down the street. Cross the street did the same thing on the other side.”

The city will be back in the area early next week to remove the stumps and replace all the trees.

~ with files from Nadia Stewart