The Daily Populous Monday July 29th, 2024 morning edition
Authored by local12.com and submitted by Nevalate

DEATH VALLEY, Calif. (WKRC) - A man was rescued from the oppressive heat of one of the country's hottest National Parks after the skin melted off his feet.

It's that this summer has been particularly warm, with the season even setting historical records for its suffocating heat. You might think you have it bad, but there's almost certainly always somewhere hotter.

California's Death Valley, for example, hit 123 degrees Fahrenheit on July 20, and that was just the air temperature. The sprawling dunes would have been even hotter than the already absurd atmosphere.

That's why it was a genuine problem for a 42-year-old Belgian tourist when he lost his flip-flops in the sand. His family called authorities for help and other park goers helped them carry the tourist to the parking lot.

Authorities reported the tourist suffered third-degree "full-thickness" burns on his feet. A National Park ranger said, "The skin was melted off his foot."

The park rangers instantly recognized the man required a hospital, but Death Valley was so hot that it was dangerous for a helicopter to land. The rangers had to drive the tourist to higher elevation in an ambulance, where a helicopter received the man and took him to a hospital.

Park rangers gave some advice to those interested in visiting Death Valley during the heat:

Stay within a 10 minute walk of a vehicle with air conditioning

Do not hike after 10 a.m.

keepingthecommontone on July 28th, 2024 at 23:07 UTC »

adding "from the bottoms of his feet" would have significantly changed the image I had in my mind after reading this headline.

moocow4125 on July 28th, 2024 at 22:39 UTC »

We need a sign under death valley that says death valley.

rnilf on July 28th, 2024 at 22:04 UTC »

> it was a genuine problem for a 42-year-old Belgian tourist when he lost his flip-flops in the sand

How does someone wake up one day and think to themselves, "I'm going to visit a place called Death Valley today, you know what I'll wear? Flip-flops."

Mind boggling.