Washington Man Airlifted in Rescue from “Bamboo Forest”

The Bamboo Forest. Photo by Vanessa Wolf

By Wendy Osher

A visitor from Seattle, Washington was airlifted from the Kailua area of East Maui after slipping on rocks and suffering a possible lower left leg fracture, officials tell Maui Now.

The incident was reported at around 10:07 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 30, in the area often referred to as the “Bamboo Forest.”

Firefighters from the Pāʻia Fire Station were dispatched to assist the 34-year-old man, who slipped and injured his leg while hiking with his brother and another male individual, said Maui Fire Services Chief Lee Mainaga.

Rescue personnel aboard the Department’s Air-1 helicopter were also dispatched to the scene and located the man about 1.5 miles into the trail, officials said.

Rescue personnel splinted the man’s leg and airlifted him to a secured landing zone on the Hāna Highway, where medics from the American Medical Response met up with the patient and transported him to the Maui Memorial Medical Center in stable condition, FS Chief Mainaga said.