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By Barney Henderson
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Three hikers were killed in Utah over the weekend amid searing temperatures across the western United States.
The fatalities included a father and daughter who got lost on a hike in Canyonlands National Park in triple-digit temperatures.
Albino Herrera Espinoza, 52, and his daughter Beatriz Herrera, 23, from Green Bay, Wisconsin, set out on the 8.1-mile Syncline Loop on Friday. With temperatures soaring above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, they became lost and ran out of water.
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Search teams, including park rangers and a Bureau of Land Management helicopter crew, initiated a rescue operation late Friday. By the time they were located, they were both dead, and their bodies were airlifted out of the park the following morning. The San Juan County Sheriff's Office confirmed their identities Monday, and an investigation is underway to determine the exact cause of death.
The Syncline Loop is described by the National Park Service as the most challenging trail in the Island in the Sky district of the southeastern Utah park.
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Last weekend, there was a third heat-related death in southwest Utah at Snow Canyon State Park. Rescuers were initially called to assist two hikers experiencing heat exhaustion on Saturday.
While attending to the hikers, a passerby informed the rescuers of an unconscious woman nearby. The 30-year-old was found dead, and her identity remains undisclosed pending an investigation by the Santa Clara-Ivins Public Safety Department.
Rising Temperatures, Rising Risks
The Utah deaths are the latest instances of tourists dying in parks during extreme heat. Three hikers died over the past month at Arizona's Grand Canyon National Park. Temperatures in the exposed areas of the park can exceed 120 degrees Fahrenheit, creating perilous conditions for hikers.
A 50-year-old man from Texas died on July 7 while attempting to reach the South Rim. In the preceding weeks, a 69-year-old man and a 41-year-old camper had both perished under the sweltering heat.
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Heat Wave Extends Its Deadly Reach
The extreme heat has not been confined to Utah and Arizona. In California's Death Valley National Park, a motorcyclist died, and another was hospitalized after riding through the area during a heat wave.
The park recorded temperatures of at least 125 degrees Fahrenheit for nine consecutive days from July 4 to 12, the longest such streak since the early 1900s. The park is now grappling with power outages caused by a thunderstorm, while temperatures remain perilously high.
Further north, a 61-year-old man was found dead in his motor home in eastern Washington state, where temperatures reached 108 degrees Fahrenheit. In Oregon, the death of an 81-year-old man on Saturday brought the state's heat-related death toll to 17 since the July 4 weekend, The Oregonian reported.
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