On October 3, 2026, the Honolulu Fire Department (HFD) received a 911 call at 9:09 a.m. and responded to a report of stranded hikers on the Stairway to Heaven Trail with 6 units staffed with 18 personnel. The first unit arrived on scene at 9:28 a.m. and secured a nearby landing zone to prepare for a search and rescue operation by air. The second-arriving unit established command and began coordinating rescue operations. As a contingency plan, 8 HFD personnel from subsequent units started hiking up the trail at 9:36 a.m.
It was reported that after hiking for 6 hours, 3 male hikers became stranded on the ridgeline between the top of the stairs and the Moanalua Ridge Trail saddle, and could not continue on their own. Air 1 located the hikers at 9:42 a.m. By cellular phone, rescue personnel instructed the hikers to stow their items and gave them a briefing to prepare them for extraction. Air 1 hoisted the first hiker safely onboard at 9:55 a.m.and transported him to the landing zone. Air 1 then hoisted the remaining hikers safely onboard at 10:12 a.m. and transported them to the nearby landing zone. All three hikers were safely at the landing zone at 10:19 a.m. where they declined medical care.
All HFD personnel were accounted for with no injuries reported.