LIHU‘E — A team of law-enforcement officers from the Kaua‘i Police Department and state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement wrote 15 citations this week to people in the Kalalau area of the Napali Coast State Wilderness Park.
LIHU‘E — A team of law-enforcement officers from the Kaua‘i Police Department and state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement wrote 15 citations this week to people in the Kalalau area of the Napali Coast State Wilderness Park.
DOCARE began getting reports of people at Kalalau beginning last Wednesday. Kalalau, which lies at the end of the world-famous Kalalau Trail on the Napali Coast, remains closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Officers report that as many as 25 to 30 people were in the area from the middle to the end of last week. When KPD and DOCARE officers arrived, they say many people ran, and prior to their arrival two large vessels had already transported people out of the area.
Commercial ocean activity is always prohibited in the wilderness park.
DOCARE state Chief Jason Redulla said, “We deeply appreciate the help of the Kaua‘i Police Deptartment and the three officers who assisted our officers. They were notified at the last minute, and quickly stepped forward to help.”
When open, the Kalalau area requires an overnight permit from the DLNR Division of State Parks. Currently the Kalalau Trail is open to Hanakapiʻai Stream, the first two-miles of the trail, and an additional two miles mauka to Hanakapi‘ai Falls.
The names of the people cited are not immediately available.
