National Park Service law enforcement cited 11 people Saturday after they were found illegally entering Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
According to a national park news release, the group of 10 men and one woman parked at Namakanipaio Campground and sneaked past the park’s numerous closure signs and ventured to the rim of Halema‘uma‘u Crater below Jaggar Museum, where they were spotted by a National Park Service geomorphologist and trail crew.
The group claimed to have not seen the warning signs on Highway 11, at the museum or at the crater’s edge.
Each person in the group was cited $350 — $250 for disorderly conduct and $100 for violating a lawful closure.
“When people put themselves at risk, they put first responders at risk,” said Chief Ranger John Broward. “Some of the offenders were spotted right at the sheer edge of the crater, which is now about 1,500 feet deep and extremely unstable. They are fortunate none of them died.”