In record heat, a motorcyclist died at Death Valley National Park in California on Saturday, and another was admitted to the hospital with a serious heat ailment, according to park officials.
The status of the hospitalized patient was unknown, and neither the name nor the gender of the deceased rider could be found.
An information request was not immediately answered by the Inyo County Coroner Office.
According to an email sent on Sunday by National Park Service Ranger Nichole L. Andler, four additional bikers in the same group received treatment for “heat stress” at the scene.
The six were riding close to Badwater Basin, an area of salt flats in the park that contains the lowest point in North America, according to a statement released by the park service on Sunday.
The National Weather Service reported a high temperature of 128 degrees late on Saturday afternoon, one degree higher than the previous record high for July 6 set in 2007. The location is south of the Furnace Creek Visitor’s Center.
The park service stated that science was not working in the riders’ best interests. It stated that the temperatures were significantly higher than the 99-degree mark, at which ambient air does not effectively cool people.
Since motorcycle riders sometimes don bulky, hefty protective gear, cooling becomes much more challenging. And when liftoff becomes challenging in warmer air—which disperses molecules that favor bigger wings or blades and higher thrust—helicopters acting as air ambulances, which can more swiftly cross the vastness of the Mojave Desert, are frequently grounded.
“High heat like this can pose real threats to your health,” park Superintendent Mike Reynolds stated on Sunday. “While this is a very exciting time to experience potential world record setting temperatures in Death Valley, we encourage visitors to choose their activities carefully.”
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A “extreme summer heat” alert has been issued by the park, warning people not to hike after 10 a.m. and to be ready for potentially fatal heat waves by packing appropriately, finding shade, and drinking enough of water.
Additionally, the park service issues a warning that there is frequently no mobile connectivity in Death Valley.
As Death Valley roasts under a high pressure dome that is heating up most of the West, the National Weather Service had predicted record heat for the area through nearly midweek.
