Motorcyclist dies from heat exposure in Death Valley, USA faces heat wave

A motorcyclist traveling with a group of other riders died of below-average heat in Death Valley on Saturday, while much of the United States continues to experience temperatures in or just above triple digits.

The unidentified motorcyclist died from the scorching heat while the group of six was riding through Death Valley National Park, officials said. A second motorcyclist was taken to a Las Vegas hospital for “severe heat illness,” while the four others were treated at the scene.

On Saturday, the temperature in the huge park was 59 degrees. Because of this heat, no helicopter could fly to reach the motorcyclists and take them to hospitals.

“While it is very exciting to experience potentially world-record temperatures in Death Valley, we advise visitors to choose their activities carefully and avoid spending extended periods of time outside of an air-conditioned vehicle or building during such high temperatures,” said park ranger Mike Reynolds.

A National Weather Service extreme heat warning on Sunday affected about 10% of the U.S. population — or 36 million people — NWS meteorologist Bryan Jackson said.

Previous heat records were reached or exceeded in dozens of locations across the West and Pacific Northwest.

The city of Redding, California, broke a new temperature record of 119 degrees, while Phoenix set a new daily record for the highest temperature of 92 degrees on Sunday.

In Salem, Oregon, temperatures reached 40.4 degrees on Sunday, breaking a record, while on the East Coast millions of people suffered unbearable humidity, even if temperatures did not reach triple digits.

And in Las Vegas, a record-breaking 49 degrees Celsius burned through the city of sin. To show just how hot it was, the National Weather Service in Vegas tweeted a photo of melting crayons left in the sun.

In Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, there have been at least 13 confirmed heat-related deaths this year and another 160 deaths suspected to be related to the hot weather.

That number does not include a 10-year-old boy who died last week from a “heat-related medical incident” while hiking with his family in South Mountain Park and Preserve, according to police.

And even though summer has just begun, the sweltering hot weather isn’t going away.

Furnace Creek, California, in Death Valley could reach as high as 130 degrees this week. The highest temperature ever recorded on Earth was 134 degrees in Death Valley in 1913, although some experts don’t believe that measurement was accurate and argue it was 130 degrees there in 2021.

Despite Lake Tahoe’s high altitude, unusual heat warnings were even issued.

“What kind of heat are we talking about? Well, highs across Nevada and northeastern California won’t drop below 100 degrees Fahrenheit until next weekend,” the weather service said in a statement. “And unfortunately, there won’t be much relief overnight, either.”

Some were not disturbed by the ongoing heat wave.

Death Valley visitor Chris Kinsel wanted to go to the park’s visitor center on Sunday to have his photo taken next to the digital display of the current temperature.

“Death Valley in the summer has always been on my bucket list. I’ve wanted to come here in the summer for most of my life,” Kinsel said.

Meanwhile, Natasha Ivory, a mother of eight, took four of her children to a water park in Mount Charleston outside Las Vegas, where the temperature was 49 degrees.

“They’re having a blast,” Ivory told Fox5 Vegas. “I’m getting wet, too. It’s too hot not to.”

With post wires