A man was hospitalized after he burned his feet on sand dunes at Death Valley National Park over the weekend in scorching temperatures that reached up to 123 degrees.
The 42-year-old man, who was visiting from Belgium, was taking a short walk Saturday at Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes in California when he lost his shoes, the National Park Service said in a news release.
Although temperatures Saturday reached around 123 degrees, according to the National Park Service, ground temperatures would have been much higher. Officials said the man was wearing flip-flop sandals, and it’s not clear whether they broke or were lost in the sand.
The man’s family called for help and asked other park visitors to carry him out of the dunes to the parking lot. The man suffered third-degree burns on his feet, the park service said.
Due to the severity of his injury and his being in pain, park rangers felt he needed to be taken to the hospital.
Because of the blistering heat, Mercy Air’s helicopter couldn’t safely land in the park because the extreme temperatures reduced rotor lift, the National Park Service said. The man was instead taken by ambulance to a landing zone at a higher elevation and then airlifted to a hospital in Las Vegas.
The excessive heat has led to several deaths recently in state and national parks.
Park rangers at Death Valley encouraged visitors to stay within a 10-minute walk of an air-conditioned vehicle, drink plenty of water and avoid hiking after 10 a.m.
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