Injured Hiker Airlifted From Pīpīwai Trail
Hana firefighters responded to the Pīpīwai Trail in the Kīpahulu District of Haleakalā National Park at 1:28 p.m., on Wednesday, June 28, 2017, to assist National Park Rangers with extracting an injured man from the trail.
The fire department’s Air-1 helicopter and Kahului rescue crew were dispatched, and airlifted a 59-year-old man who had injured his ankle while hiking on the Pīpīwai Trail, two miles up near Waimoku Falls.
Fire officials say he was hiking with family members and is a visitor from Vacaville, California.
Park Rangers were already treating the man for his injuries and needed MFD’s assistance with getting the man back to the Hāna Highway.
The man was secured in a rescue basket and airlifted by a rope suspended below the helicopter to a landing zone, and transferred to paramedics near the trailhead at around 2:30 p.m. He was then taken by ambulance to the Hāna Health Clinic for further treatment.