Councilwoman Jenn Kagiwada is hosting a town hall meeting on Zoom to discuss enhanced signage intended to keep would-be swimmers out of the waters of the state parks along the Wailuku River in Hilo.
That meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m. Monday.
The two state parks, Rainbow Falls and Boiling Pots, are popular swimming holes for locals and visitors, alike. But the Wailuku — which in Hawaiian means “waters of destruction” — can be dangerous, even when appearing innocuous.
The two state parks have been the site of 27 drowning deaths in the past 29 years. Deaths have occurred almost equally from those who are visitors and locals, and some of those were strong swimmers and even elite athletes or lifeguards.
The ages of those who died were as young as 14 and the oldest was in his 80s.
The latest drowning fatality was 42-year-old Stanley Walker II, of Pensacola, Fla., who on Sept. 17 disappeared beneath the current at Boiling Pots. Walker was a member of Norwegian Cruise Lines’ Pride of America crew.
Walker wasn’t the only Pride of America crew member to perish in the Wailuku. Ryan Ritzel, 24, of Santa Clara, Calif., drowned in April 2010 at the base of Pe‘epe‘e Falls at Boiling Pots after rains swelled the river.
Kagiwada said authorities will be reaching out to the officials of cruise lines with ships that dock here “just to make sure that they know this is not a place that’s safe for swimming.”
“And I think, possibly, after this last person died up there, they’ll be a little more aware,” she said.
According to Kagiwada, additional signage to discourage people from entering the water is in the works by the Hawaii State Parks Division. The signs list dates of when people have perished in the area and warns would-be swimmers, “Do not go beyond this point.”
The new sign was modeled after one that was installed in 2022 at a popular Windward Oahu hiking spot, Olomana trail.
Six hikers have fallen to their deaths on the trail in the last 13 years. Since the sign went up two years ago, there have been no further fatalities, and only one fall.
While the Wailuku River parks are state-managed and Kagiwada is a county lawmaker, she’s hosting the online forum “just to get feedback on it and to let people know.”
“I’ve gotten several calls and emails over the past few years about people having concerns about this area, especially people who live up in that area, who see the emergency helicopters searching and the vehicles. They know it’s very dangerous,” Kagiwada said Friday.
“I, myself, go to Boiling Pots almost every day,” she added. “I live in the neighborhood, and I see people going down to swim. We know it’s not only tourists and visitors, but also local people who have died there. So, we felt it was really important to act.”
Another county official who feels it’s important is Fire Chief Kazuo Todd.
“We would advocate for good signage,” Todd said. “I think the biggest issue and the problem we see is that people go to swim when it’s raining upstream in the mountains. It can be a beautiful, sunny day, but when it rains up in the mountains, the currents, the conditions can rapidly change.”
Todd recalled the 2018 drowning of Kelly Mrowinski, a travel nurse from Chicago. Mrowinski, who had been in Hawaii for about a month, went hiking with a male friend above Piihonua Falls on Jan. 26, 2018, when a flash flood occurred and washed them both into the Wailuku.
The man was able to swim to safety, but Mrowinski was caught in the current. Searchers were unable to find her body, which was recovered downstream in Hilo almost a month later.
“Her drowning was one of the reasons we pushed for having drones so we could search with the heat-sensor cameras and whatnot,” Todd said. “That would’ve been useful in conducting that search.”
“Obviously, it is the Hawaii Fire Department’s responsibility to respond and to save people if we can — and if we cannot, to return the recovered body to the family with as much dignity as possible.”
Todd said fire rescuers are now equipped with drones to help augment the aerial searches done by county helicopters, which can only fly during daylight.
“We’ve actually sent the drone team out for a few of our more recent rescues, but it’s not quite where I want it to be, yet,” the chief said. “We’re looking to expand on our drone use. That’s the future. We’re looking at tether drones that hook in to our vehicles.”
Todd said there’s “never a reason to not have good signage telling people about the dangers they face at a beach or going into a river.”
Kagiwada said she hopes those who encounter the signs will read them, stay out of the water at those spots, and “find another place that’s safer.”
Those interested can register for the Zoom meeting at https://bit.ly/WailukuSign or contact Kagiwada’s office at (808) 961-8272 with questions.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
