On November 19, 2023, the Honolulu Fire Department (HFD) received a 911 call at
9:03 a.m. for stranded hikers off of the Aiea Ridge Trail in Aiea and responded with 5
units staffed with 13 personnel. The first unit arrived at 9:12 a.m. to secure a landing
zone to prepare for a search and rescue operation by air.

It was reported that two males and a female, all in their teens, were hiking for
approximately seven hours, and found themselves in an area near the ridge with steep
terrain and were unable to continue. Air 1 was able to make visual contact and inserted
rescue personnel at a remote landing zone near the ridge. Rescue personnel hiked to
the ridge and made contact with the hikers at 10:18 a.m. After performing a medical
assessment and confirming that they had no injuries, they were all relocated to the
remote landing. Air 1 safely airlifted all hikers and rescue personnel to the landing zone
at the old sugar mill with the last hikers arriving at 11:08 a.m.

All HFD personnel were accounted for with no injuries.