PHOENIX — A European visitor suffered third-degree burns to his feet when he briefly walked barefoot on sand dunes in California. Death Valley National Park over the weekend, park rangers said Thursday.
Rangers said the visitor was rushed to a hospital in nearby Nevada. Due to language barriers, rangers could not immediately determine whether the 42-year-old Belgian’s flip-flops were somehow damaged or lost at Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes during a short hike on Saturday.
The ground temperature that day would have been much higher than the air temperature, which was around 123 degrees Fahrenheit (50.5 degrees Celsius). Death Valley National Park has record heights this summer in the desert that lies below sea level, near the border between California and Nevada.
The man’s family called for other visitors to help carry him to a parking lot. Rangers then drove him to higher ground where a medical helicopter could safely land in the extreme temperatures that reduce roto lift. The man was flown to University Medical Center in Las Vegas.
The medical center operates the Lions Burn Care Center. In the summer, many patients from Nevada and parts of California come to the center with contact burns like the one the Belgian man suffered.
Red-hot surfaces such as asphalt and concrete also pose a hazard catastrophic burns in the urban areas of the desert southwest. The majority of the Las Vegas Burn Center patients come from the surrounding urban areas, where summer temperatures regularly reach triple digits.
Thermal injuries from hot surfaces such as sidewalks, patios and playground equipment are also common in Maricopa County, Arizona, which includes Phoenix.
Temperatures can also be dangerous in Death Valley. Earlier this month, a motorcyclist died from heat-related injuries.
On the salt flats of the valley in Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America, the park has a large red stop sign warning visitors of the dangers of extreme heat to their bodies after 10 p.m.
Park rangers warn summer travelers not to hike in the valley at all after 10 p.m. and to stay within 10 minutes of an air-conditioned vehicle. Park rangers recommend drinking plenty of water, eating salty snacks, and wearing a hat and sunscreen.
