Another story of heat-related trauma out West, this time in Death Valley National Park. reports a 42-year-old Belgian visitor to the park lost his flip-flops Saturday during a brief walk at Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes. A explained that due to a language barrier, park rangers couldn't get clarity on whether his sandals had broken or become lost in the sand.
Regardless, he ended up barefoot on the sand, whose temperature would have been "much hotter" than the air temperature, which was around 123 degrees. He suffered "full-thickness burns" as a result. His family managed to get help from fellow parkgoers, who carried the man to the parking lot.
Park rangers said the third-degree burns on his feet, as well as the pain he was in, made it clear the man needed to get to a hospital quickly. But the temperature meant a safe landing by helicopter in the area wasn't possible (such elevated temps cut down on rotor lift). The reports he was transported by ambulance to an elevation of 3,000 feet where 109-degree temps permitted the helicopter landing.
He was taken to University Medical Center in Las Vegas. Park rangers tacked the following recommendations onto the release: Summer tourists to the park should remain within a 10-minute walk of an air-conditioned vehicle, end their hiking by 10am, drink plenty of water, eat salty snacks, and wear a hat and sunscreen. (More stories.
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