KFD rescues injured hiker at Wailua Falls
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Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island
Equipment is passed over a fence as Kaua‘i Fire Department firefighters and rescue specialists respond to a call for an injured man Friday at Wailua Falls.
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Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island
Equipment is laid out to extricate a man injured near Wailua Falls Friday.
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Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island
A Kaua‘i Fire Department rescue specialist out of the Lihu‘e station reports the condition of an injured man Friday at Wailua Falls.
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Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island
Firefighters assess equipment requirements Friday while the first contact reports the condition of an injured man at Wailua Falls.
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Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island
Rescue specialists from the Lihu‘e Fire Station respond to a call for an injured man Friday at Wailua Falls.
WAILUA — A 67-year-old male visitor from California slipped while attempting to hike from the lookout area down to the pool below Wailua Falls Friday morning.
According to a preliminary report, first responders received a call from Kaua‘i Police Department dispatch at approximately 10:20 a.m. of the visiting hiker who attempted to go down to the bottom of Wailua Falls from the parking lot.
Shortly after beginning the hike with his family, the male visitor slipped and fell approximately 25 feet off the trail. According to one bystander, a visiting nurse heard the commotion on the trail and went down to assist the hiker.
At 10:35 a.m., firefighters arrived on the scene and made contact with the hiker’s family and the hiker, who appeared to suffer multiple head injuries.
Because of the rescue and terrain complexity, first responders utilized a multipurpose device hauling system to secure and extract the hiker by noon.
The hiker, who was not identified, was treated by personnel with the American Medical Response and later transported to a Wilcox Medical Center.
KPD officers closed off a portion of Ma‘alo Road for approximately two hours while firefighters and rescue specialists rescued the visitor.
KFD personnel with the Lihu‘e and Kapa‘a fire stations, a battalion chief, KPD and AMR responded to the incident, according to a county spokesperson.
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Sabrina Bodon, editor, can be reached at 245-0441 or sbodon@thegardenisland.com.
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The above article misidentified the visitor as a hiker when it should have read “trespasser” or at the very least “rulebreaker”. I’ m pretty sure the signs on the fence in the accompanying photos strongly warn against the exact thing that he decided would be good to do.
As a Christian; I hope he will recover fully from his injuries. As a Kauai taxpayer; I hope he will be presented with a detailed bill charging him for the time, energy and expenses incurred by the AMR, KFD and KPD on his behalf. Kauai residents should not have to pay for reckless and stupid behavior.
Does someone need to die before we get time limits for parking at the falls? People doing this so called trail hog the parking spaces for hours. Come on
Once again they Police, Firemen and First responders have to rescue another stupid fool tourist….They should get the bills to pay for their rescue..Idiots…
I hosted several German youth 4 years ago.
They went down the cliff to the pool below the falls.
They and 15 others were arrested with mandatory judicial appearance, and the fine was $300 dollars.
This rescued individual and his trespassing friends should be fined and billed for the cost of his rescue.
Signs with the penalties to descend to that area below the falls need to be posted.
So is this 67 year old California visitor, who just ignored the Kapu signs Going to pay for his rescue??
There is a major hiking app that lists the illegal trail as a great hike. Says nothing about it being against the law. Many people have asked the makers of the app to remove the trail, but they dont believe in “restricting access to the land”. I think some of us should camp out on the app makers front lawn for a week or two.