A man got third-degree burns walking on blazing hot sand dunes in Death Valley, rangers say

Anita Snow, Associated Press

PHOENIX — A European visitant sewage third-degree burns connected his feet while concisely stepping barefoot connected nan soil dunes successful California’s Death Valley National Park complete nan weekend, parkland rangers said Thursday.

The rangers said nan visitant was rushed to a infirmary successful adjacent Nevada. Because of connection issues, nan rangers said they were not instantly capable to find whether nan 42-year-old Belgian’s flip-flops were someway surgery aliases were mislaid astatine Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes during a short Saturday walk.

The crushed somesthesia would person been overmuch hotter than nan aerial somesthesia that day, which was astir 123 degrees Fahrenheit. Death Valley National Park has seen grounds highs this summertime successful nan godforsaken that sits 194 feet beneath oversea level adjacent nan California-Nevada line.

The man’s family called connected different visitors to transportation him to a parking lot. Rangers past drove him to a higher elevation wherever a aesculapian chopper would beryllium capable to safely onshore amid utmost temperatures, which trim roto lift. The man was flown to University Medical Center successful Las Vegas.

The aesculapian halfway operates nan Lions Burn Care Center. During nan summer, galore patients from Nevada and parts of California spell to nan halfway pinch interaction burns specified arsenic nan ones nan Belgian man suffered.

Blazing basking surfaces for illustration asphalt and actual are besides a threat for catastrophic pain injuries successful nan municipality areas of nan godforsaken Southwest. The bulk of nan Las Vegas pain center’s patients travel from nan surrounding municipality area, which regularly sees summertime highs successful nan triple digits.

Thermal injuries from basking surfaces for illustration sidewalks, patios and playground instrumentality are besides communal successful Arizona’s Maricopa County, which encompasses Phoenix.

Air temperatures tin besides beryllium vulnerable successful Death Valley, wherever a motorcyclist died from heat-related causes earlier this month.

At nan valley’s brackish flats successful Badwater Basin, nan lowest constituent successful North America, nan parkland has a ample reddish extremity motion that warns visitors of nan dangers of utmost power to their bodies aft 10 a.m.

Park rangers pass summertime travelers to not hike astatine each successful nan vale aft 10 a.m. and to enactment wrong a 10-minute locomotion of an air-conditioned vehicle. Rangers urge drinking plentifulness of water, eating salty snacks and wearing a chapeau and sunscreen.