The National Park Service ambulance and Mercy Air’s air ambulance at the landing zone at 3,000 feet just east of Death Valley National Park’s CA-190 east entrance. Photo: NPS
On Saturday, July 20, a man was rescued at Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes in Death Valley National Park. According to the National Park Service, help was required because he had “full-thickness burns on his feet.”
The victim was a 42-year-old tourist from Belgium. Park rangers believe he lost his flip flops while exploring the sand dunes. The air temperature at the time was around around 123°F, and the temperature of the sand, according to the NPS, would have been far hotter.
Rescue personnel were called by the man’s family after they also asked other park visitors to help them carry the man to the parking lot. A National Park ranger said that “the skin was melted off his foot.”
When they saw the severity of the burns, Park rangers knew he needed to be hospitalized. Since Death Valley was so hot, however, it was necessary to take him by ambulance to a higher elevation where the air was cooler before he could be airlifted via helicopter. Rotor lift is affected by high air temperatures. Mercy Air service transported the man to University Medical Center in Las Vegas where he was treated for third-degree burns.
Park rangers issued a set of recommendations for Death Valley tourists, including staying within a 10-minute walk of a vehicle with air conditioning, not hiking after 10 a.m., drinking plenty of water, eating salty snacks, and wearing protection like a hat and sunscreen.
