Man suffers full-thickness burns on his feet after losing his shoes in the dunes of Death Valley

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Rescuers have to airlift him to hospital after a flip flop malfunction

The National Park Service ambulance and Mercy Air’s air ambulance at the landing zone at 3,000 feet just east of Death Valley National Park’s CA-190 east entrance
The National Park Service ambulance and Mercy Air’s air ambulance at the landing zone at 3,000 feet just east of Death Valley National Park’s CA-190 east entrance (Image credit: National Park Service)

A man who lost his shoes was rescued after suffering full-thickness burns on his feet at Mesquite Flat sand dunes in Death Valley National Park on Saturday, July 20

According to a press release issued by the National Park Service, Death Valley park rangers believe the man (who was 42 and from Belgium) was taking a short walk on the sand dunes when he lost his flip flops, though due to “communication challenges” (which we think is a euphemism for “his English was poor and the park rangers’ Dutch, French or German wasn’t up to much either), the park rangers were not able to determine if his flip flops broke or were lost in sand.

The ground temperature would have been much hotter that air temperature, which was around 123°F / 50.5 °C.

The man’s family called for help and recruited other park visitors who carried the man to the parking lot.

Mesquite Flat sand dunes

The Mesquite Flat sand dunes in Death Valley National Park (Image credit: National Park Service)

Park rangers decided to get the man to hospital as quickly as possible as the burns were causing him a lot of pain. The rescue helicopter was unable to safely land in Death Valley because of the high temperature – warm air has lower density compared to cooler air, and in thin air helicopter blades produce less lift, which means more difficulty in taking off and maneuvering.

So the helicopter landed further east and the rangers transported the man in an ambulance to the landing zone. The man was then airlifted to University Medical Center in Las Vegas. Park rangers recommend that summer travelers to Death Valley National Park stay within a 10 minute walk of an air conditioned vehicle, not hike after 10am, drink plenty of water, eat salty snacks, wear a hat and slap on plenty of sunscreen.

We’re surprised they didn’t add “don’t wear flip flops” to the list.

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Dave Golder