The Phoenix Fire Department is seeing an uptick in mountain rescues this summer over last — and one particularly busy day with hikers in distress.
To illustrate just how tough the summer is shaping up for Phoenix Fire crews, Phoenix Fire Captain Todd Keller says crews had back to back rescues on Sunday.
“There were three rescues, two at Echo Canyon at Camelback and one at the north side of Piestewa Peak,” he says. “The initial rescue in the day was around 11 a.m. with an adult female who was found about halfway up the trail.”
Her core body temperature was above 104 degrees.
“So, we did use our cold water immersion therapy to bring it down" — which is like a full body cold plunge, Keller says.
But it's not just hikers who can succumb to the oven-hot heat.
“These firemen are going to do an absolute, fabulous job and they're the best training in the world, but it does take a toll on them.”
It takes them around an hour to an hour and a half to recover from each call, he explains.
Keller is asking the public to respect trail closures and only hike in the coolest parts of the day.
