Department of Land and Natural Resources

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 8, 2020

FIFTEEN PEOPLE CITED AT KALALAU ON SUNDAY FOR CLOSED AREA VIOLATION

(Līhuʻe) – A team of eight law enforcement officers from the Kaua‘i Police Dept. (KPD), and the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) wrote 15 citations yesterday to people in the Kalalau Section of the Nā Pali Coast State Wilderness Park on Kaua‘i.

DOCARE began getting reports of people at Kalalau beginning last Wednesday. Kalalau, which lies at the end of the world-famous hike on the Nāpali Coast, remains closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Officers report that as many as 25-30 people were in the area from the middle to the end of last week. When KPD and DOCARE officers arrived, they say many people ran and prior to their arrival two large vessels had already transported people out of the area. Commercial ocean activity is always prohibited in the wilderness park.

DOCARE Chief Jason Redulla said, “We deeply appreciate the help of the Kaua‘i Police Dept., and the three officers who assisted our officers. They were notified at the last minute and quickly stepped forward to help.”

When open, the Kalalau section requires an overnight permit from the DLNR Division of State Parks. Currently the Kalalau Trail is open to Hanakāpīʻai Stream, the first two-miles of the trail and an additional two-miles to Hanakāpīʻai Falls.

The names of the people cited are not immediately available.

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Media Contact:

Dan Dennison
Senior Communications Manager
(808) 587-0396
[email protected]