Belyruth Ordóñez was an avid hiker.
Over the past few summers, the 30-year-old and her parents have traveled to parks around Utah, where they live, to hike together.
But on Saturday, the heat was very strong and tragedy happened. Temperatures at Snow Canyon State Park in Utah rose above 100 degrees F, and Ordóñez was found dead there, apparently overwhelmed by the extreme conditions.
Her parents, Humbelina and Dario Ordóñez, were found near her and were both hospitalized due to the heat. They remain in critical condition.
“They still don’t know their daughter passed away,” said Melanie Penaloza, a close friend of Belyruth.
“It’s shocking to know that she passed away walking, because she loved doing it,” Penaloza added.
Ordóñez’s death is one of four heat-related deaths reported in state and national parks already this month. The day before she was found, authorities discovered the bodies of Albino Herrera Espinoza, 52, and his daughter Beatriz Herrera, 23, in Canyonlands National Park in Utah.
Wisconsin residents got lost while hiking the Syncline Loop Trail and ran out of water, according to the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office. Relatives of the Herreras could not be reached for comment.
Earlier this month, six motorcyclists from Germany were struck by heat in California’s Death Valley National Park.
Other visitors found the group on July 6 and took all but one man to the park’s visitor center. The man who remained, Jurgen Fink, 61, was later pronounced dead by park officials, according to park spokeswoman Abby Wines.
One of the motorcyclists had to be taken by ambulance to Desert View Hospital, more than 90 kilometers away. Wines said it was too dangerous for rescue helicopters to fly that day because of the extreme temperatures, which reached 128 degrees.
And three deaths in Grand Canyon National Park in the past five weeks are under investigation, with heat considered a likely factor.
A walk for ‘family bonding’
Heat causes more deaths than any other type of extreme weather and is becoming increasingly fatal, both in parks and elsewhere, as climate change makes heat waves more frequent and severe. Parts of Southwest Just Experienced Its Hottest June registered. Maricopa County, Arizona, where Phoenix is located, has already registered more than 300 deaths suspected of being heat-related this year.
Although heat deaths are reported on public lands every year — 77 hyperthermia deaths were recorded in national parks from 2007 to 2023, according to an NBC News analysis — the numbers appear to be above average heading into this summer.
“Seeing that we have more and more deaths is kind of an indication of how more people are suffering in their daily lives from the heat,” said Floris Wardenaar, assistant professor of nutrition at Arizona State University’s College of Health Solutions and a heat expert. . exhibition and recreation.
Early summer heat, in particular, can surprise people, he said. “They are not yet adapted to it.”
The National Park Service does not close parks when extreme temperatures occur, focusing instead on broadcasting forecasts, warning visitors about weather dangers and encouraging them to postpone plans such as hiking during colder periods. of the day.
“Our position is to empower visitors to make the right decisions when planning their trip and choosing the right activity based on skill and experience,” said Cynthia Hernandez, spokeswoman for the National Park Service. “Park managers may close a specific area, such as a trail that doesn’t have much shade, or post additional notices.”
“The vast majority of people who visit the parks are able to return home safely, and part of the excitement for many people who visit the parks is the adventure,” Hernandez added.
However, as record high temperatures hit the parks, the margin of safety could be getting smaller.
Marlon Olaya, a friend of the Ordóñezes, said the close-knit family from Peru lived in Orem, Utah, and were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The family had hiked Snow Canyon together before, he said.
“It’s very painful,” Olaya said. “The intention was to have a moment of family togetherness.”
Olaya described Belyruth as “humble and kind.”
“She was always a very loving person,” he said. “It’s very sad to see someone like that go.”
An only child, Belyruth adored her parents, Olaya added: “She always made it clear – her parents were her heroes.”
Olaya said both parents woke up from comas on Wednesday.
The two have mixed memories, Penaloza said, and Dario Ordóñez is on dialysis with kidney problems.
“We are praying so hard for them to recover,” she said. “They are confusing past and present and don’t remember exactly what happened.”
‘It’s going to be hotter on the trail than you expect’
An analysis of July 5-7 temperatures in the western US suggests that temperatures were more than 7 degrees F warmer than past heat waves. The research, carried out by Climameter scientists, found that both climate change and natural variability played a role in the increase in heat.
On park trails, conditions can often be quite different from climate application estimates, Wardenaar said.
“It will probably be hotter on the trail than you expect,” he said. “We have done studies with different surfaces here in Arizona and especially where there is a lot of rock and little shade, the radiation from the rock can rise during the day and as a result you will generate much more heat in the body. ”
This may have been a factor in the three deaths in Grand Canyon National Park.
Two of those hikers — a 41-year-old man found unconscious on the park’s Bright Angel Trail in June, and a 50-year-old Texas man found near the same trailhead on July 7 — have not been publicly identified.
The third was Scott Sims, 69, of Austin, Texas, who was found “semi-conscious” on the River Trail on June 29, according to the park service.
In the summer, temperatures on exposed parts of this trail can reach over 120 degrees in the shade.
A spokesperson for Grand Canyon National Park said it was under an excessive heat warning until July 12. In a statement, the park service said visitors are encouraged to avoid hiking from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“If it’s hot, cool off by getting wet in the streams and water stations. Pay attention to warnings and signs in the canyon,” the statement said. “Always carry a water filtration method. If you heed the warnings, you can have an enjoyable hike instead of a life-threatening misadventure.”
Wardenaar suggested that in hot conditions, hikers should carry 32 ounces of water for each hour of planned hiking and should turn around before half the water is used up.
Sims’ relatives could not be reached for comment, but a woman named Jessica Ryan identified Sims as her uncle. in a Facebook post and said she was walking with him before his death.
“There are no words for the events that happened and the emotions we are feeling right now. It’s not just what you see in the movies. The most beautiful places are unforgiving. Be ready. Don’t underestimate nature,” she wrote.
This article was originally published in NBCNews. with
