Extreme heat only draws more summer visitors to Death Valley

Ray Estrada’s 11-year-old grandson is used to Las Vegas’ scorching summers, but he’d always wanted to experience the heat in one of the Earth’s hottest places. So Estrada recently drove him to Death Valley National Park, with an umbrella, extra water and electrolytes in tow. That day, the thermometer soared to 118 F.

“We have to be very careful when we go out there,” Estrada told him. “If you start feeling dizzy or whatever... we’re just gonna turn back and be safe so we can do this again another time.”

The extreme temperatures in this stretch of California desert attract visitors every year, some determined to finish a grueling, multiday race, others just curious about the sizzling heat and the landscape’s vast beauty. Yet despite the warnings, the heat kills one to three people annually, and park rangers respond to overheated visitors multiple times per week, making communication about heat safety a priority for the National Park Service.

But that’s easier said than done. “It’s very easy to underestimate how dangerous heat is,” said Abby Wines, the park’s acting deputy superintendent. “We actually have a harder time communicating our concerns about heat to the public when they visit and it’s only 100 to 115,” Wines said. The dryness evaporates sweat almost instantly, so many people don’t realize how much they’re actually sweating.

“This type of heat will kill,” she said.

Death Valley holds the record for the hottest temperature ever officially recorded — whether it's 134 F in July 1913 — although some experts have disputed it and say the real record was 130 in July 2021.

Throughout this desert are stark warnings of the deadly heat: “Stop. Extreme heat danger. Walking after 10 a.m. not recommended,” one sign says. “HEAT KILLS!” warns another.

Another sign warns visitors that helicopters for medical emergencies can’t safely fly amid extreme temperatures. Ambulances can often deploy in extreme heat but are not a guarantee. The safety of emergency responders is always considered.

Two of the park’s busiest months are in the summer, and it sees a small bump in visitors when temperatures are expected to hit the high 120s or 130s. But it’s the moderate temperatures that tend to get people into more trouble.

Baruch Fischhoff, professor at Carnegie Mellon University who studies decision-making, said evidence shows that people generally underestimate risk when they have a sense of control.

Failing to recognize those risks can be deadly. Last summer, a helicopter was unable to fly to a rescue because of 128 F temperatures. A group of visitors were traveling on motorcycles when one died from the heat, and another was treated for severe heat illness and transported to a hospital.

Rescue options are even more limited for hikers lost on a trail. Unless it’s a short distance and rescuers know where the person is, they’ll likely wait until sunset if it’s above 115 F. “Depending on their situation,” Wines said, that’s “probably too late.”

In the U.S., heat kills more people than other weather events combined, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.



(AP Photo/John Locher)