When temperatures soared to a record 128 degrees Fahrenheit in Death Valley National Park on Saturday, a group of motorcyclists became distressed by the extreme heat and one of them died, a park ranger said.
The motorcyclists were touring the park near Badwater Basin, a stretch of salt flats that is also the lowest point in North America, when in mid- or late afternoon they reported being affected by extreme heat, according to park ranger Nichole Andler.
One passenger was pronounced dead at the scene and another person with severe heat illness was flown to Las Vegas, Andler said. Four other members of the group were treated and released.
The name of the deceased motorcyclist and other identifying information were not released and the specific cause of death will be determined by the medical examiner, Andler said.
“It was 128 degrees yesterday, which was a record for that day in Death Valley,” the ranger said, “and these people were riding motorcycles and most likely did not have adequate cooling.”
The heat also made rescue efforts more difficult. When temperatures exceed 49 degrees Celsius, a medical helicopter cannot access the park. Air expands when it gets hot, becoming thinner than cold air. Helicopters therefore cannot get the lift they need to fly.
But Andler said that in addition to park rangers, first responders from Inyo County and nearby Pahrump, Nevada, assisted the cyclists.
Saturday’s temperature was just shy of Death Valley’s all-time heat record of 134 degrees, which was set on July 10, 1913. Since record-keeping began in 1911, temperatures have reached or exceeded 130 degrees just three times, with two of those times since 2020: on Aug. 16, 2020, and again on July 9, 2021.
Each year, at least one to three people die from heat-related illnesses while visiting the park, and there are one to three calls for medical assistance for heat-related stress each week.
“People get excited about experiencing the warmest temperatures they’ve ever experienced, and sometimes they forget that if they were hot an hour ago and started feeling nauseous, then they should spend the rest of the day in air conditioning, because that could be the first sign of heat illness,” Andler said. “If you get hot and never cool down properly, your body doesn’t have a chance to reset.”
Elsewhere in Southern California, heat broke records and scorched communities.
Leela Finley Little, 6, cools off Sunday at Tierra Bonita Park in Lancaster, which recorded a high temperature of 115.
(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
On Sunday, Palmdale and Lancaster both recorded record-high temperatures for the date: Palmdale recorded a high of 114 degrees, surpassing the record of 110 set in 1989. In Lancaster, the 115 degrees recorded Sunday surpassed the record of 110 reported in 1989 and 2017.
The National Weather Service said extreme heat will continue this week across the southern United States, with highs of 105 to 115 degrees expected in inland valleys, mountains and deserts.
The excessive heat warning has been extended until 9 p.m. Thursday for the western San Gabriel Mountains, Antelope Valley, Angeles Crest Highway and the 5 and 14 freeway corridors.
Another excessive heat warning was in effect through Wednesday for the Santa Clarita Valley, Santa Monica Mountains, Calabasas, San Fernando Valley and eastern San Gabriel Mountains, regions where temperatures were forecast to exceed 100 degrees, according to the weather service.
