County firefighters rescued two hikers in separate incidents Sunday, both involving apparent violations of Gov. David Ige’s stay-at-home orders.
According to a written Hawaii Fire Department statement, the first incident involved a woman becoming ill while hiking the dry bed of Kaawalii Gulch Stream about a half-mile from Highway 19.
Five units responded to the 4:19 p.m. call, including the county’s Chopper 1, which lifted her out of the stream bed and took the woman — who was ambulatory and uninjured, but apparently unable to hike back out — to an awaiting ambulance.
She was taken to Hilo Medical Center for further treatment.
In the second incident, a good Samaritan at Malama Market in Honokaa told authorities about an injured visitor with a possible broken leg near Hiilawe Falls in Waipio Valley.
Eleven units responded, including both county helicopters, with the first unit arriving on scene at 5:49 p.m.
It took awhile for Chopper 1 to find the man, and the helicopter was returning to quarters when it finally spotted him in the darkness and lowered a Billy Pugh net to him.
The man told rescuers he’d been hiking with others when a log by the river he’d been walking on gave way. Friends tried to help the man out of the valley to where they had parked, but were unable to do so.
Chopper 1 dropped the man off at a staging area and Chopper 2 took him to North Hawaii Community Hospital in Honokaa.