A woman died in Arizona’s Grand Canyon National Park after falling unconscious during an 8-mile hike in over 100-degree heat, officials said.
Park rangers got a call around 6:30 p.m. Sunday about a distressed day hiker in the remote Tuweep area of the park, the National Park Service (NPS) said in a statement.
When a ranger reached the 57-year-old woman’s location around 1 a.m. – more than six hours after the initial call – she was dead, officials said.
No further details about the woman were immediately released.
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The 57-year-old woman became distressed while on an 8-mile hike in the Tuweep area of Grand Canyon National Park on Sunday, officials said. (National Park Service / J. Balsom)
An investigation into the woman’s death was ongoing in coordination with the Mohave County Medical Examiner.
Temperatures in the Tuweep area reached well over 100 degrees on Sunday, according to NPS. Meanwhile, the high temperature at Phantom Ranch, near the Colorado River along the North Kaibab trail, reached about 114 degrees.
Grand Canyon National Park officials described the Tuweep area as remote. Temperatures in the area reached well over 100 degrees on Sunday. (Bernard Friel/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
An Excessive Heat Warning has been issued for inner canyon portions of the Grand Canyon through Sunday.
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“Park rangers at Grand Canyon National Park urge visitors to Grand Canyon, especially inner canyon hikers and backpackers, to be prepared for excessively hot days in the coming weeks,” officials said.
Summer temperatures on exposed parts of the trail can reach over 120 degrees in the shade, park rangers warned. Visitors were advised to avoid hiking in the inner canyon during the heat of the day between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Last month, a 31-year-old Florida man and his 14-year-old stepson died in Big Bend National Park in Texas after hiking in 119 degree temperatures.
In another incident last week, a 61-year-old woman was found dead at Canyonlands National Park in Utah amid the summer heat. An investigation into the manner and the cause of her death was ongoing.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 600 people in the U.S. die from extreme heat every year.
