Two Kaua‘i Fire Department vehicles were dispatched yesterday afternoon to assist an injured hiker on the Hanakapi‘ai trail, according to county spokeswoman Mary Daubert. The 36-year-old female hiker from Corvallis, Ore., suffered an apparent leg injury, possibly a sprained ankle,
Two Kaua‘i Fire Department vehicles were dispatched yesterday afternoon to assist an injured hiker on the Hanakapi‘ai trail, according to county spokeswoman Mary Daubert.
The 36-year-old female hiker from Corvallis, Ore., suffered an apparent leg injury, possibly a sprained ankle, about one mile in from the Ha‘ena trailhead.
A group of people that initially helped the injured hiker left her with her husband at that spot, hiked out, and called emergency dispatch from a telephone at the trailhead at roughly 11:40 a.m.
Hanalei’s Engine 1 and Lihu‘e’s Rescue 3 were dispatched to the scene, KFD Battalion Chief Russell Yee told Daubert.
A rescue helicopter operation was unavailable due to wind conditions, so the firefighters walked in to help the woman.
The three rescue specialists arrived at the trailhead at roughly 1:30 p.m., Daubert said, and brought a Stokes litter, a long, wheeled metal basket, to the location of the injured woman, her husband, and the two Hanalei-based firefighters.
They then helped transport her to the trailhead, emerging at roughly 3:30 p.m., Daubert said.
The unidentified woman refused further treatment, opting to not be taken to Wilcox Memorial Hospital, and was released at the scene.
