FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
HFD rescue personnel treated a woman who sprained
her ankle on the Diamond Head trail yesterday. The
woman was one of five hikers airlifted off the
trail by rescue crews.

Fire crews
pluck 5 from
Diamond Head trail

Officials say the hikers were
unprepared for conditions on the trail

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By Leila Fujimori
lfujimori@starbulletin.com

The Honolulu Fire Department was busy rescuing five hikers on Diamond Head yesterday.

Most of the calls were because of hikers who were apparently unprepared for the hot weather and the sometimes strenuous hike, said fire Capt. David Mortensen.

Fire rescue crews and the fire department helicopter went out twice to the crater yesterday.

The first call came in at 9 a.m. for a 29-year-old Waipahu woman complaining of dehydration and dizziness, Mortensen said.

After she was airlifted off the helipad at the top of Diamond Head, the helicopter returned to the top to rescue a 14-year-old Pennsylvania girl. The girl had just had a milkshake and said she was feeling nauseated and was vomiting, Mortensen said.

Then at noon, the department received another call for an injured woman on the trail.

On the way up, rescuers found another woman, a 43-year-old mainland visitor, a quarter mile above the bathrooms with an injured right ankle.

RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Honolulu Fire Department rescue personnel assisted
one of five hikers plucked from Diamond Head yesterday.
Lack of preparation was cited as a factor in many of the injuries.

"Four guys went up to get her," Mortensen said. "At the same time, we flew two guys to the landing pad at the top. When they got out, they found a man vomiting."

The 44-year-old New Yorker was a diabetic, and he was flown to the crater bottom.

Two rescue crew members flew back up and met the victim they initially were sent to retrieve. A 52-year-old New York woman had a sprained or fractured right ankle. Rescuers moved her to a spot where the helicopter could land, and she was flown out.

Many of the rescues could have been prevented if hikers were prepared, Mortensen said. "People need to be cognizant of the fact that it's hot, so they need to take the proper precautions, resting, drinking lots of fluids."

He added that people also need to be aware of their limitations regarding physical activity.

"It's not that easy of a hike," Mortensen said. "We have people going up in their dresses and high-heeled shoes, not knowing what they're in for. They're out of shape with improper hiking clothes on, and they're not stable on their feet. It's easy to twist an ankle in the dirt, which is rubble-like and loose.

"They come in all shapes and sizes and they're not prepared," he said.

"They think it's a fairly easy walk, but it's pretty vertical" in some places.

Rescues off Diamond Head are quite common, but "five rescues in one day is not common," Mortensen said.

"On weekends and on nice days, nine times out of 10, we're going to end up there," he noted.

Last Sunday, a visitor in his 30s tried to climb up from the lighthouse on the face of the crater, Mortensen said.

A month ago, a visitor slipped through the railings in the dark bunker staircase. Mortensen said a flashlight is needed to go through safely.