The Rescue: Firefighters, swimmers, detail daring mission that saved students

KAILUA-KONA — When firefighters got a call that 10 people had been swept away during a flash flood in a Waimea stream, they thought they were responding to a recovery, not a rescue.

Swift-water rescues are not common for West Hawaii first responders. But on Nov. 3, crews put their training to the test as they worked to rescue three people trapped behind a raging waterfall in Waiaka Stream on Parker Ranch land.

“That was one of the craziest calls I’ve been on,” said Fire Rescue Specialist Lui Sales, one of those involved in the technical rescue. The whole dynamic of it — it being at nighttime, raining, wind, cold temperatures and being in water — was what made it difficult. With the raging water, any slip-up could’ve been dangerous. We couldn’t second-guess ourselves.”

Responding agencies included fire crews from Waikoloa, Waimea, Waiakea, Kona and two volunteer fire stations including Chopper 1 from Hilo.

Inside the operation

When Hawaii County fire crews responded to Anna’s Ranch at 4:18 p.m. on Nov. 3, they picked up three students with Youth With a Mission from University of Nations in Kona, who confirmed 13 were in their party swimming at Cowboy’s Pond. Authorities confirmed the swimmers hiked to the stream through Parker Ranch land and Anna’s Ranch.

“They said seven were washed away,” said Battalion Chief John Whitman as he recalled his initial contact with the first three students. “They heard a big roaring sound, a wall of brown water came and they immediately lost sight of them.”

Hawaii County was under a flash flood warning at the time the group was hit in the stream.

“You could tell by the intensity of the water it was taking out a lot of debris,” Whitman said of the waters that Saturday. “I saw logs coming down; I thought those seven were pretty much dead. There should’ve been seven dead.”

As they worked to locate the missing swimmers, Chopper 1 pilot spotted three walking in a pasture.

As crews proceeded to search the river below the pond, one at a time they found four others, clinging to the sides of the cliffs. Whitman said rescuers were able to get them to safety without the use of technical equipment.

Going in for those remaining

Three of the 13 were still unaccounted for. It wasn’t until about 5 p.m. that firefighters got their first hint of where they were located.

“From the top you could hear them hear them yelling for help,” said Fire Rescue Specialist Cole Arrington as he recalled their search. “They were very faint cries for help.”

But as firefighters worked their way down the cliff, those voices were muted by the raging waters of the waterfall. The only confirmation they had that the swimmers were in that area were visuals of their hands and the top of their heads.

Capt. Richard Fong led the technical operation from the top of the cliff, approximately 150 to 200 feet from where the swimmers were located behind the waterfall. Crews were unable to reach them from the bank because trails were flooded. He said the rescuers had a lot of challenges that evening, one of which was their operation occurred in the dark.

“The stream rose to unprecedented levels and speed,” Fong said. “We kind of knew we were dealing with extraordinary conditions.”

Fong added the operation was totally, unbelievably successful.

“I already made the assessment that if I could save one that would be a victory,” he said, as he sat in the office at the Kona Fire station Thursday recalling the rescue.

But they didn’t save one. They saved all three.

It took two tries for firefighters to set up a rope directly above the three people trapped. After that, it was a matter of establishing clear communication with the team on the radios.

“We depended a lot on hand signals and rope tugs,” Fong said, adding it was not ideal.

Sales said it took longer to get the radios working correctly than the rescue itself did.

A rope system was set up at the top of the cliff. In their first attempt to reach the youths, Sales was lowered, but he was too far upstream. At that point, the firefighter remained in his location on the ledge, unconnected, as the rope was pulled up for a second try.

“It was one of the most worrisome situations I’ve been in, because you can’t see what they’re doing,” Fong said of his crew.

From the top of the cliff, Fire Equipment Operator Dave Mahon was the first to reach the three. He said one of the girls had been standing on just a corner of a rock. All three were clinging to slick, wet rock.

The conditions where the three were found were “a constant heavy, muddy mist,” Mahon said. “I just talked to them and reassured them that they’re safe.”

In his 17-year career with the department, he said, this was the biggest rescue he’s been on.

Fire Rescue Specialist Paul Kekela followed Mahon. Twenty feet from the ground, he stopped at an overhanging ledge where he observed a sharp rock rubbing against the rope. At that point he disconnected, sent the line back up and Arrington came down.

Arrington got protection under the line and Kekela reconnected to the rope and continued on to where the three and Mahon were located. Sales had also made his way to the group.

One at a time, Sales, Mahon and Kekela brought a swimmer up with them to the ledge where Arrington was located. After that, they walked on a ledge 50 feet downstream as a group where again the swimmers were pulled up accompanied by a firefighter, one by one.

Arrington credits the success of the rescue to teamwork of the rescuers and their equipment, without which the rescue wouldn’t have been accomplished. Much of the fire department’s technical rescue equipment is gifted to it through the Sayre Foundation, an organization specifically created to help Hawaii County firefighters obtain equipment they need to do their job.

“We risked our lives because there were viable people down there,” Arrington said. “We put our lives at risk and relied on our training.”

Once the rescuees were out of the stream, the Chopper 1 pilot flew to the area and picked everyone up. If the pilot had not flown in, the rescuers would’ve had to hike 2 miles to get back to the staging area at Anna’s Ranch. The operation was completed just after 1:30 a.m.

YWAM youth to safety

On Friday, the three youths stuck under the waterfall responded via email to questions about the rescue. Since all 13 of the swimmers are being cited for trespassing and the incident remains an open case, they didn’t provide their names. However, they did describe their experience.

The three were unsure how long they had been trapped.

“At times, I could see the sunshine outside beyond the mist of the waterfall,” one individual wrote. “The mud in the water was covering us so at first I thought the darkness was just from the mud. I completely lost sense of time and didn’t realize how late it was.”

The same individual wrote when they saw the flashlights from people up on the hill, they began to scream to get their attention.

“I was the first one that got to the top,” the youth said. “It was hard because my adrenaline went out and I was freezing and hyperventilating. One of the firefighters gave me a tarp. It was such a compassionate act to help me get warm.”

The second individual trapped said when the firefighter put the harness on them, they knew they were safe.

“From the second they started to rescue us I knew I was going to live,” the second youth said. “I felt safe all the way up from the bottom of the waterfall to the top of the cliff.”

Prior to their rescue, the second youth wrote, the helicopter couldn’t see the three of them where they were, especially in the dark. They didn’t know if anyone else was alive or if others in their group knew they were alive.

It wasn’t until they heard the firefighter’s voice that the three understood and knew they were being rescued, the second individual wrote.

Bravery, lessons learned

The firefighters don’t just credit themselves for the survival of the three swimmers.

“A big part was their fight to survive,” Arrington said.

This job, Fong said, is about depending on each other. And that’s what they did on Nov. 3.

“It exemplifies the department’s core values as a team,” he said.

The 13 YWAM students are expected to appear in court on Dec. 11 for the trespassing citation. On Friday, they expressed their gratitude to the firefighters and the efforts they made to save their lives.

“Thank you so much,” the first individual wrote. “Thank you for not leaving us. Thank you because of your families’ sacrifice. I remember when the first firefighter came down and he was trying to keep us calm and at peace. Thank you for rescuing our lives.”

The second youth wrote they wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for those “brave men.”

“I’m so amazed at the risk they took especially because they did not know if we were alive,” the second individual wrote. “Thank you so much for coming from so many different places, hiking down and climbing back up. All the hard work that it took. I am so, so, so grateful.”

Parker Ranch officials expressed concern after the incident.

Nahua Guilloz, vice president of business administration for livestock at Parker Ranch, said they have trouble with trespassers every day. Despite signs and security throughout the day, it is ignored.

“No one reads the signs,” Guilloz said. “You actually have to climb over the signs.”

Guilloz said the swimmers were in a dangerous and secluded area, adding there could’ve been serious injuries.

“There’s so many legal places you can go where it’s safer and just as pretty,” she said. “Our message is to go visit the rest of island.”

Since the incident, University of Nations spokeswoman Erica Gustafson said the school respects and honors the land and laws.

“There are policies we have in place and routinely communicate about respecting private property and kapu,” Gustafson stated in an email Friday. “We will be reviewing our policies and work to ensure everyone learns and understands about respecting the ways of the land.”