Latest news with #SuperstitionFire
The Guardian
12-05-2025
- Climate
- The Guardian
Arizona man dies on mountain hike amid sweltering temperatures
A 33-year-old man died while hiking in Arizona's Gold Canyon on Sunday as temperatures reached about 100F (37.8C), officials said. Noah Farabaugh, from Arizona, was hiking with a group of five people in the Superstition Mountains, about 40 miles east of Phoenix, when he started having a medical emergency at around 12.45pm. 'When deputies arrived, the man was deceased,' a spokesperson for the Pinal county sheriff's office told the Guardian. 'No foul play is suspected.' The Pinal county medical examiner will determine the cause of death. The Superstition fire and medical district said on Facebook the incident was likely due to heat-related problems. One member of the fire crew told Fox News that the group had been on the trail for roughly six hours and with little water. The other four hikers were rescued and did not want to go to the hospital. Officials warned that heat illness can occur quickly, even for experienced hikers, especially as Arizona temperatures can rise above 110F (43.3C) in summer. They also said most heat-related deaths happen between 10am and 4pm, the hottest time of day, with even dry heat causing fast dehydration. Hikers can lose up to 1 liter of sweat per hour while hiking. The Superstition Mountains rise over 6,000ft above the Sonoran desert. The Superstitions are part of Tonto national forest and include the Superstition wilderness area, which can only be reached by hiking or horseback. The Superstition wilderness area is about 160,000 acres of rugged desert, according to the Visit Mesa website. The name comes from stories told by the Akimel O'odham people, who spoke of strange sounds, disappearances, and deaths in the mountains, according to Phoenix's tourist page. In the 1840s, the Peralta family from Mexico was said to have discovered gold mines in the area, but their final expedition ended in an Apache ambush, giving rise to the name of the trailhead Massacre Grounds, according to Arizona State Parks. Later, in the 1870s, a German immigrant named Jacob Waltz, known as the 'Dutchman', supposedly rediscovered the lost mine with the help of a Peralta descendant. He and his partner allegedly hid gold near Weaver's Needle, but the mine's location was never confirmed. Waltz died in 1891, reportedly revealing clues to the mine's location to a neighbor, but no one has successfully found it since. The tale of the 'Lost Dutchman's Mine' has inspired many searchers, some of whom met mysterious or deadly fates.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Man dies in Pinal County while hiking Wave Cave Trail
The Brief A man died while hiking on the Wave Cave Trail on Sunday following a medical emergency, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said. The May 11 incident happened around 12:45 p.m. PINAL COUNTY, Ariz. - A man died while on a hike in Pinal County on Sunday afternoon, the sheriff's office said. What we know At around 12:45 p.m. on May 11, a group of hikers called 911 to report a 33-year-old man in their group who was having a medical emergency from the Wave Cave Trail. By the time first responders got there, the man was dead. "No foul play is suspected. The Pinal County Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death," PCSO said. Superstition Fire & Medical District (SFMD) says five people were part of the group, including the man who died. They were reportedly on the trail for six hours. "SFMD, along with assistance from Mesa FD responded to a 1st alarm Mountain rescue with reports of 5 patients needing rescue, due to heat issues," SFMD said. "One patient became unresponsive and CPR was initiated by civilians before SFMD arrived on scene. Multiple rounds of CPR were initiated, and unfortunately the patient did not survive." What we don't know PCSO didn't provide the man's name.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
1 dead, 4 hikers rescued after heat-related emergency at Arizona's Gold Canyon
One person died on Sunday afternoon after suffering a heat-related medical emergency on the Wave Cave Trail at Gold Canyon, which is located just over 40 miles east of Phoenix, officials said, noting that four others from the hiking party were rescued. Rescue teams responded to what they described as a "1st alarm Mountain rescue" after receiving a call from hikers just before 1 p.m. local time. The hikers had been on the trails for some six hours when the rescue was initiated. One of the five -- a 33-year-old man -- was experiencing a medical emergency, according to the Pinal County Sheriff's Office. Civilians from within the hiking party attempted to initiate CPR, according to the Superstition Fire and Medical District, which serves Gold Canyon. Rescue teams took over CPR efforts upon reaching the scene, but "unfortunately the patient did not survive," SFMD said in a statement. Temperatures in the area were close to 100 degrees on Sunday, and the medical emergency was linked to the heat. "No foul play is suspected," PCSO said. "The Pinal County Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death." MORE: 5 charged in 'human smuggling operation' after boat incident leaves 3 dead "Tragically this mountain rescue resulted in one fatality," SFDM said in a statement on Facebook, adding that the other four in the group were assisted down the mountain but "refused transport to the hospital." Officials encouraged people to avoid Wave Cave Trail for the remainder of the day on Sunday. MORE: 2 brothers among 3 killed in shooting outside Glendale, Arizona, restaurant: Police SFMD added an advisory to its social media post, saying that Arizona summers can reach upward of 110 F and "heat exhaustion or heat stroke can occur in under an hour." "Most heat deaths happen on trails between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., the hottest part of the day," the post continued. "If you feel dizzy, nauseous, stop sweating, or become confused, get help immediately," SFMD added. "Please stay safe and plan wisely. No hike is worth your life." 1 dead, 4 hikers rescued after heat-related emergency at Arizona's Gold Canyon originally appeared on
