Kauai Fire Department Airlifts Injured California Hiker from Kalalau Trail

A 51-year-old male visitor from California fell on the Kalalau Trail Saturday afternoon, prompting Kauaʻi Fire Department crews to launch a helicopter rescue that pulled him off the remote Nā Pali Coast trail and delivered him to a local hospital within roughly an hour.

Rescue 3 aboard Air 1 responded to the incident shortly before 4 p.m. First responders arrived on scene at the Hanakoa landing zone and discovered the hiker. Rescuers medically assessed the hiker at the scene and loaded him into the helicopter, where he was taken to Princeville Airport.

Upon landing at Princeville Airport, the hiker was transferred to American Medical Response for assessment. American Medical Response personnel then transferred the hiker to a local hospital. The scene was cleared shortly after 4:50 p.m. No hospital name was released, and the County of Kauaʻi provided no update on the man's condition beyond his initial apparent shoulder injury caused by the fall.

The Kalalau Trail, which stretches 11 miles along the Nā Pali Coast, has required repeated KFD interventions this year. On Feb. 6, Rescue 3 aboard Air 1 responded shortly after 8:40 a.m. to a 27-year-old man visiting from New York who suffered an apparent ankle injury on the same trail, with crews arriving at the Kalalau Beach landing zone. He was taken to Princeville Airport, where he was transferred to Hanalei Fire Station personnel and American Medical Response for further assessment before being transported to a local hospital.

The March 22 rescue was conducted under the authority of Kauaʻi Fire Department Chief Michael Gibson. Media inquiries can be directed to the County of Kauaʻi Communications Team at CountyPIO@kauai.gov.