A woman was pronounced dead early Monday morning after falling unconscious while hiking the Grand Canyon in triple-digit temperatures, officials said.
U.S. park rangers received a report of a hiker stranded in the Tweep section of Arizona’s Grand Canyon National Park around 6:30 p.m. Sunday, according to a news release from the National Park Service (NPS).
A 57-year-old woman lost consciousness during an eight-mile hike in a secluded area of the park, officials said. “Rangers arrived at the scene around 1 a.m. on July 3 and confirmed the hiker’s death,” NPS said in a statement.
Temperatures in Tweep on Sunday topped 100 degrees Celsius, according to NPS. It reached 114 degrees at Phantom Ranch, near the Colorado River, southeast of the scene.
An NPS official said extreme heat warnings are in place for parts of the Grand Canyon through Wednesday. Parks officials recently urged hikers and backpackers to prepare for extremely hot temperatures in the coming weeks.
About 35 million Americans are on alert for dangerously high temperatures ahead of Independence Day, and the center of the heat dome is in the west.
Monday temperatures hit 114 degrees in Phoenix, 112 degrees in Las Vegas, 114 degrees in Palm Springs and 120 degrees in Death Valley.
At least eight southern states, from Texas to Georgia, had heat indices ranging from 105 degrees to 115 degrees on Saturday.
Excessive heat in parts of the country in recent weeks has been linked to multiple deaths.
At least 13 people died of heatstroke in Texas last month, according to the Associated Press.
The heat wave in Texas has led to more emergency room visits than at the same time last year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As for the Grand Canyon, park rangers are advising people to avoid hiking inside the canyon between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
“Hiking in extreme heat can lead to serious health risks, including heat exhaustion, heat stroke, hyponatremia and death,” the National Park Service said.
The NPS and the Mojave County Coroner’s Office are investigating the incident.
ABC News’ Emily Shapiro, Julia Jacobo, Nadine El Bawab, Kenton Gewecke and Max Golembo contributed to this report.
