Hiker airlifted after 20-foot fall on Hawaii Kai trail

Firefighters airlifted a 25-year-old man off a Hawaii Kai trail Tuesday after he apparently tumbled about 20 feet through brush.

Honolulu fire Capt. Terry Seelig said hikers found the man, who had been hiking when he fell, at about 12:50 p.m. on Mariners Ridge. He was in a rest area that is off the main trail, about a mile from the trail head.

The man borrowed the hikers’ cellphone to call for help. A Fire Department helicopter picked up the man and lowered him to the field at Kaiser High School to paramedics at 2:07 p.m.

According to emergency dispatch reports, the man went off the trail and fell about 20 feet. He couldn’t stand up because of back pain.

Crews work to contain brush fire on Hawaii island

Hawaii County firefighters battled a brush fire that came close to homes Tuesday in Hawaiian Paradise Park.

The blaze started at about 1:20 p.m. on the Hilo side of Kaloli Drive and burned mostly brush in an open lava field, said Hawaii County Deputy Fire Chief Glen Honda.

A fire helicopter made water drops, and about 15 fire units, including volunteer firefighters, fought the blaze.

By 6 p.m. firefighters were almost finished with a firebreak to contain the estimated 60-acre fire, Honda said.

At one point the fire moved up to the rear of properties in Paradise Park, but firefighters pushed the blaze back.

“No homes are in any danger at this time,” Honda said.

He said the fire was fast moving early on, but the winds died down and firefighters got a better handle on the situation. No injuries were reported.

NEIGHBOR ISLAND

Crews quit search for missing man off Hawaii island

The Coast Guard and Hawaii County Fire Department have suspended a search for a missing 79-year-old Hawaii County fisherman.

The Fire Department suspended operations after searching Tuesday.

Mitchell Wailani had left July 5 for a multiday fishing trip. He had been fishing with a friend who returned to shore in his own boat, the Coast Guard said. The friend last saw Wailani on Thursday and reported him missing Saturday, the Coast Guard said.

Hawaii County firefighters received a 5:16 p.m. report Saturday that a boat was in distress along the shoreline below Koae Road. A Hawaii County Fire Department helicopter found Wailani’s boat had run aground in Papaikou Saturday evening with no one aboard.

Man dies after being swept into ocean off cliff

A 22-year-old California man died Monday of injuries he suffered when a wave swept him into the ocean off Puna on Sunday.

The Hawaii County Police Department identified him as Paul Tam-Mai of Sunnyvale, Calif.

Police said Tam-Mai was climbing on a rocky cliff at the end of Paradise Drive in the Hawaiian Paradise Park subdivision at about 3 p.m. Sunday when a wave knocked him into the ocean and carried him about 100 yards out to sea.

Fire rescue personnel found Tam-Mai face down in the water, and he was transferred to the Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu. He was pronounced dead at 9 p.m. Monday.