Technical problems with the telephone system for TheHandi-Van and TheBus is causing scheduling problems, according to the city.

The city’s Department of Information Technology and the Oahu Transit Services information technology staff are working to repair the problem, which started late Monday.

“We thank riders and callers for their patience and understanding,” the city said.

Firefighters rescue 15 visiting hikers from rising tide

The Hawaii County Fire Department rescued by helicopter 15 Utah visitors who were trapped Tuesday by a rapidly rising tide along the rocky shoreline of the Kohala Coast.

Hawaii County Fire Department personnel got the call at 12:58 p.m. and arrived on scene at 1:12 p.m. at the eastern end of Pololu Valley, where they found 15 hikers stranded at the base of a cliff between Pololu and Honokane valleys.

The 15 were part of a group of 45 hikers — 21 females and 24 males — from Utah who were unfamiliar with the area, the Fire Department said in a written report.

Firefighters monitored the stranded hikers from a lookout on the western ridge of Pololu Valley as the helicopter inserted a rescue worker to make contact with the hikers, who were airlifted to a landing zone on the western edge of Pololu Valley. No one was injured. The rescue was completed by 2:30 p.m.