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Extreme heat in Grand Canyon blamed for deaths of 3 hikers

Visitors to Grand Canyon National Park are being warned about extreme temperatures that will hit the popular destination early next week after a recent increase in heat-related incidents in the inner canyon, including the deaths of three hikers.

The National Weather Service issued an extreme heat watch at the Grand Canyon for midday Monday through Tuesday, forecasting temperatures that could reach or exceed 110 degrees at the low-elevation Phantom Ranch.

People are “strongly advised” to avoid hiking in the middle of the day, the National Park Service said this week in a statement following a “recent influx of heat-related incidents.”

An extreme heat watch was in effect June 16 when two hikers, ages 67 and 68, were found dead on the North Kaibab Trail, which the NPS describes as the most difficult of the major inner canyon trails. The service said they appeared to have succumbed to symptoms of heat-related illness.

A third person, 72, died June 12 along the South Kaibab Trail after becoming ill from the heat, NPS said.

Oak Creek Canyon visitors and residents were evacuated late Friday as a wildfire burned hundreds of acres just north of Sedona.

Much of the Western U.S. from the Rockies to the Pacific Coast saw above-average temperatures Saturday and with even hotter weather anticipated for early next week. Officials also warned that the prolonged dry, hot weather and relatively low humidity increased the risk of fire danger.

Park and weather officials alike emphasize to visitors that hiking conditions can be deceiving. Temperatures at the rim of the Grand Canyon are often 20 to 25 degrees cooler than what hikers will experience at the bottom.

“It’s just a hot place at the bottom of the Grand Canyon,” said Justin Johndrow, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Flagstaff. Johndrow warned that the region is approaching the hottest period of the year before rain monsoon season later in the summer offers some relief.

Hikers may have cooler temperatures and an easier time going downhill to start the descending trails, but they face an intense climb of thousands of feet in elevation and much hotter bottom-of-the-canyon temperatures to get back up. Those conditions can cause heat illness symptoms to sneak up on visitors.

“That’s very strenuous even on a mild day,” Johndrow said of the hike back up to the rim. “Throw in temperatures of 105 to 110 degrees, and that causes some pretty bad problems.”



(AP Photo/Matt York, File)
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