Kauaʻi fire rescues visitor with ankle injury from Waipoʻo Falls Trail

A 53-year-old female visitor was rescued on Wednesday after suffering an apparent ankle injury while hiking the Waipoʻo Falls Trail in Kōkeʻe State Park, according to the Kauaʻi Fire Department.

Emergency responders were dispatched shortly after 11:40 a.m. following a report of a hiker in distress. Firefighters from the Waimea Fire Station, Rescue 3 aboard Air 1 helicopter, and the on-duty battalion chief responded to the scene.

Upon arrival, crews located the injured hiker and conducted a medical assessment.

Rescuers used an Aerial Rescue Vest to extract the woman from the trail before short-hauling her by helicopter to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) landing zone.

She was then loaded into the aircraft and flown to the Waimea Canyon Baseball Park landing zone. At the landing zone, the hiker was transferred to American Medical Response personnel, who transported her to a local hospital for further evaluation and treatment.

The rescue operation concluded shortly before 2 p.m.