Three die in Grand Canyon heat incidents as summer danger rises

Three hikers died in two heat-related incidents on June 12 and June 16 at Grand Canyon National Park, a deadly stretch that pushed June’s total to four heat deaths on the canyon’s trails. Grand Canyon National Park rangers and emergency medical personnel responded in the Inner Canyon.

The June 16 incident involved two hikers, ages 67 and 68, found on the North Kaibab Trail. The pair died from heat-related illness. That came after a June 3 death on the Bright Angel Trail, when the park received reports at about 1:40 p.m. that an 18-year-old male was experiencing heat-related symptoms below Havasupai Gardens. Rangers later found him about 30 feet below the trail in a remote area near Garden Creek.

By mid-June, Grand Canyon National Park warned that Inner Canyon temperatures can exceed 109 degrees in the shade during midday hours. The National Weather Service warned of dangerously hot conditions below 4,000 feet, with daytime temperatures ranging from 105 degrees at Havasupai Gardens to 111 degrees at Phantom Ranch. National Weather Service forecasts around the same period showed Phantom Ranch climbing as high as 112 degrees.

On June 18, Grand Canyon National Park told visitors to avoid strenuous hiking between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., a window when the heat is most punishing and shade offers little relief. The park’s emergency guidance lists extreme heat as a cause of heat exhaustion, heat stroke, hyponatremia and hyperthermia, and advises hikers not to go below the rim during excessive heat warnings.

Water planning is part of the risk too. The park has warned that water availability can be limited or changing on key inner-canyon routes, including sections of the North Kaibab and Bright Angel trail systems.