No, I've no idea who felled the trees. The SES (if they were there) may have been a small team compared to the organised evolution that was specifically sent to retrieve the body, but we're debating something that may be a red herring.
I would trust AAV to have made the correct decision based on the circumstances, plus the crew on the spot would have the final go/no go say in carrying out the hoist. They are the professionals and Monday morning umpiring should be on specifics, not finding fault in decision making by those who were there at the time, possibly with a different knowledge to what we have now.