Posted on 10/29/2021 1:10:23 PM PDT by nickcarraway
fficials in Phoenix voted Thursday to fully adopt a policy limiting access to certain hiking trails in extreme heat.
The Phoenix Parks and Recreation board unanimously pushed through the measure, which will close trails at Camelback Mountain and Piestewa Peak from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. any day an excessive heat warning is issued.
The policy was tested at Echo Canyon and Cholla Trail in the Camelback Mountains and the Piestewa Peak trails in the Phoenix Mountains Preserve from July 13 to Sept. 30.
The trial run began after nearly a dozen members of the Phoenix Fire Department were sent home after suffering heat exhaustion after making multiple hiker-related saves in a single day.
Phoenix mountain rescues decrease during pilot program to close trails in extreme heat
First responders said in September the program helped cut down on the number of mountain rescues they made on days of extreme heat.
The parks board said in a press release it will monitor rescue data as part of yearly evaluations.
Under the policy, parking lot gates will be closed whenever the National Weather Service issues an excessive heat warning.
Signs will be posted explaining the closure and park rangers will be on duty to answer questions.
Ya, I was thinking every summer day in Phoenix has excessive heat.
If yer a pussy don’t you automatically exlude yourself from hiking?
They have a point here. Not only is it maybe 10+ degrees warmer away from the city (so 110==120, etc.), but there is lot of shiny quartzite all over the ground, reflecting the heat back up at you.
The bottom line is that when somebody goes hiking, 15 minutes later they desperately want to quit, and somebody else has to either hoof it out there or fly in with a helicopter to pick them up.
If you are bound and determined to suicide by desert, there are any number of other places you can go to get turned into jerky.
And when they realize the power they have over people and the money they save, they’ll make it 365 days a year.
Interesting...they aren’t doing it to protect idiot citizens, but the firefighters and S&R who go on the rescues. That probably makes sense, don’t you think?
Thanks for the clarification.
Wasting resources rescuing dumb people.
I'm sick of safetyism.
I agree. Just moved here three years ago, 110+ is when it gets unbearable. Before that, meh.
It’s warm here, but not 365 days a year.. Today, here in Scottsdale, we enjoying a brisk 75 deg.
Everyone wants to tell everyone else what to do, why?
Power....Power....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.