‘Someone is going to get hurt or killed’: 14 people arrested for illegal hiking in Hawaii

Hawaii’s most controversial nature spot has once again become a center of concern, with 14 people recently arrested for accessing the Haiku Stairs on the island of Oahu according to officials.

They are beautiful but unexpected: 4,000 metal steps, built by the US Navy during World War II and abandoned not long after. Located in a remote area of Kaneohe, the only way to access the stairs is via a dangerous and unsanctioned hike.

“It’s incredibly disrespectful and self-centered for anyone to be on the Haiku Stairs, or on the Middle Ridge Trail, when it’s been made abundantly clear that these areas are off-limits for safety and natural resource protection reasons,” Jason Redulla, chief of Hawaii’s Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) said in a statement, which bore the ominous warning that “someone is going to get hurt or killed.”

According to DOCARE, all the people arrested in the past week have been charged with criminal trespassing, a misdemeanor that can result in up to 30 days in jail. Eight of the 14 were arrested on September 3, although it’s not clear if they were hiking together.

“It is dangerous for people to enter the construction zone and dangerous for them to try to descend the ridge. They need to think about the consequences if someone gets hurt, or worse, and needs rescue. It is a difficult place for first responders to reach, which could delay medical treatment,” said Redulla.

The Haiku Stairs, sometimes called the “stairway to heaven,” were closed to the public in 1987. But social media has brought the unlikely destination a degree of fame, with intrepid YouTubers and Instagrammers raving about the gorgeous views from atop the 2,800-foot mountain trail, with the stairs sometimes appearing to disappear into the mist above.

According to DOCARE, the hikers used climbing ropes to get to the staircase.

The stairs’ fame has brought headaches for the local community, including trespassers, added security costs and risky rescues of hikers who have been injured in the remote area.

In 2021, the Honolulu City Council voted to remove the Haiku Stairs. The work has been done in pieces, with one section of the stairs at a time detached from the side of the mountain and then removed by helicopter.

A local group called Friends of the Haiku Stairs is pushing back against the stairs’ removal, arguing that the $2.5 million process is too expensive.

Some of the deconstruction work had been completed when the Hawaii Court of Appeals issued a temporary injunction earlier this year.

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