Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

16 hours ago

Will Valadao Spoil Trump’s Plan for July 4th ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Signing?

17 hours ago

Shaver Lake and Reedley 4th of July Shows Are Wednesday. Who Else Is Celebrating?

20 hours ago

Elon Musk Says Senate Bill Would Destroy Jobs and Harm US

20 hours ago

Israel Strikes Pound Gaza, Killing 60, Ahead of US Talks on Ceasefire

22 hours ago

Trump’s Administration Finds Harvard Violated Students’ Civil Rights, WSJ Reports

22 hours ago

How Did the Supreme Court Rule? Here’s a Look at the Big Cases

3 days ago
Doctors Warn of Burns From Asphalt as Heat Wave Hits US West
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
June 15, 2021

Share

PHOENIX — Doctors who work in Arizona and Nevada burn centers are warning of injuries from contact with super-heated roadways and other surfaces as the first extreme heat wave of the year extends across the U.S. West.

A high pressure system is expected to push temperatures above 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 Celsius) this week in Las Vegas and Phoenix. Health officials advised people to be mindful of hot asphalt, sidewalks and even desert sand.

Elsewhere, heat warnings stretched from California’s central and inland valleys to as far north as Montana and Wyoming, where predicted highs of 109 degrees (43 Celsius) on Tuesday are expected to shatter records. In Denver, parents, kids and pets cooled off in a popular creek Monday as the temperature hit 96 degrees (36 Celsius) by mid-afternoon.

Those northern states should see relief by mid-week, but no such respite is expected for Arizona, Utah, Nevada and parts of California. National Weather Service excessive heat warnings last through the weekend for those states. The high temperatures will be made worse by the lack of a break in the weather, according to AccuWeather, whose forecasters called it a “rare, dangerous and deadly” event.

That means burn centers are likely to be busy.

 Serious Burn Injuries from Contact with Scorching Surfaces

In the Southwest, the problem of burns from hot surfaces is growing as temperatures rise due to climate change and increasing urbanization.

And it shows up in emergency rooms like the one at the Arizona Burn Center in Phoenix, where director Dr. Kevin Foster said 104 people were admitted in June, July and August 2020 with serious burn injuries due to contact with scorching surfaces. Seven people died.

Many more received outpatient treatment.

“It doesn’t take much time to get a full thickness or third degree burn when exposed to hot pavement,” Foster said in a press briefing last week. “Because if you look at hot pavement or asphalt at two o’clock in the afternoon in direct sunlight, the temperature is usually somewhere around 170 to 180 degrees Fahrenheit.”

At the Lions Burn Care Center at Las Vegas’ University Medical Center, injuries from hot pavement are so common that staff call the summer months “pavement burn season,” the center’s medical director said. In all, 13% of the serious burn injuries seen at the burn care center come from hot pavement.

“It is a significant part of our population,” said Dr. Syed Saquib, who has co-authored several medical journal reports on burns in desert climates.

According to an April medical journal report co-authored by Saquib, pavement burns are often severe and require longer hospital stays and greater need for surgeries.

That’s because the people who are hurt often are unable to get up off the superheated pavement because they collapsed from dehydration, heat stroke or another medical condition or because they are intoxicated.

Cases Up 49% Reaching a New High

Cases start spiking once outside temps top 95 degrees (35 Celsius).

Foster’s facility, part of the Valleywise Health public hospital system that serves Phoenix and surrounding Maricopa County, said severe burns from contact with hot surfaces rose 49% last year from 2019, reaching their highest number since the burn center began tracking cases in 2000.

“Almost all of those patients required surgery, which included for burn excision and skin grafting,” he said.

Of those admitted last summer, 30% required ICU care and 20% ended up on ventilators to help them breathe, Foster said.

The elderly are most at risk of falls that lead to serious burns, and so are people with medical conditions such as neuropathy, or loss of feeling in their feet. Falls leading to burns can also be caused by intoxication, and some people are burned after vehicle crashes when they end up on the pavement. Foster noted that only 16% of patients were homeless, and the average age of those admitted last year was 52.

Burns can also happen after touching hot surfaces like metal door handles, seat belt buckles or hot leather car seats, Foster said. And babies and toddlers are especially susceptible, since their skin is easier to burn and they can’t move off a hot surface as fast. Poolside concrete can also cause burns, even so-called “cool deck” coatings.

Awareness is Best Preventative Measure

Preventing those injuries is often a matter of awareness, Foster said.

For the elderly and those with medical conditions, avoiding going out in the hottest hours is best. Not going alone is also key.

For parents, ensuring young children wear shoes and doing a “touch-test” before allowing them to climb on hot playground equipment can prevent burns.

At the Lions Burn Care Center, Saquib said staff do frequent outreach to try to prevent burns, using social media and other platforms.

The burn care center has been partnering with community groups to urge people around swimming pools to wear flip-flops and distributing them to vulnerable populations to try to prevent foot burns.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Clovis Police Seek Public’s Help in Finding Missing 82-Year-Old Woman

DON'T MISS

Fresno Woman Killed in Head-On Collision, CHP Investigating

DON'T MISS

Musk Vows to Punish Lawmakers Who Back Trump’s Spending Bill

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years for $4.2 Million Tech Startup Fraud

DON'T MISS

Bryan Kohberger Pleads Guilty in Murders of Four Idaho Students, ABC News Reports

DON'T MISS

Wildfire Near Lake Madera Country Estates Burns 12 Acres, Now 100% Contained

DON'T MISS

Fresno County CHP Arrest Two in Interstate 5 Drug, Gun, and Counterfeit Money Bust

DON'T MISS

California Seizes Over 600,000 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks. Newsom Calls for Safe Celebrations

DON'T MISS

Where Trade Talks Stand With Major US Partners Ahead of Tariffs-Hike Deadline

DON'T MISS

Labor Icon Huerta Breaks Ground on Fresno Park Bearing Her Name

UP NEXT

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

UP NEXT

US Supreme Court Lets Parents Take Kids Out of Classes With LGBT Storybooks

UP NEXT

Bill Moyers, Broadcaster and LBJ’s White House Press Secretary, Dies at 91

UP NEXT

Tesla Executive, Elon Musk Confidant Leaves EV Maker, Bloomberg News Reports

UP NEXT

How a Birthday Boat Ride on Lake Tahoe Turned Tragic

UP NEXT

Cuomo Concedes to Mamdani in New York City Democratic Mayoral Contest

UP NEXT

Mamdani Holds Lead Over Cuomo in Democratic Primary for NYC Mayor

UP NEXT

Clovis Man Sentenced to 8 Years in Federal Prison in Deadly Fentanyl Case

UP NEXT

Victims Identified as Death Toll Climbs to 8 in Lake Tahoe Boating Tragedy

UP NEXT

Florida to Build ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Detention Center for Migrants in Everglades

Fresno Man Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years for $4.2 Million Tech Startup Fraud

14 hours ago

Bryan Kohberger Pleads Guilty in Murders of Four Idaho Students, ABC News Reports

14 hours ago

Wildfire Near Lake Madera Country Estates Burns 12 Acres, Now 100% Contained

14 hours ago

Fresno County CHP Arrest Two in Interstate 5 Drug, Gun, and Counterfeit Money Bust

15 hours ago

California Seizes Over 600,000 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks. Newsom Calls for Safe Celebrations

15 hours ago

Where Trade Talks Stand With Major US Partners Ahead of Tariffs-Hike Deadline

15 hours ago

Labor Icon Huerta Breaks Ground on Fresno Park Bearing Her Name

15 hours ago

DOJ Announces Arrest, Indictments in North Korean IT Worker Scheme

15 hours ago

Fresno Man Arrested in Clovis for Sex-Related Crimes Against Minor

15 hours ago

Dyer’s Lobbying Works. Fresno Gets $100M for Downtown From State

15 hours ago

Clovis Police Seek Public’s Help in Finding Missing 82-Year-Old Woman

The Clovis Police Department is asking for the public’s help in locating an at-risk missing adult last seen on Thursday. Pathmani Goonawarde...

13 hours ago

Clovis Police are searching for Pathmani Goonawardena, 82, who went missing nearly three weeks ago and was last seen driving a white Volvo near Copper and Auberry, possibly en route to Coarsegold. (CHP)
13 hours ago

Clovis Police Seek Public’s Help in Finding Missing 82-Year-Old Woman

fresno
13 hours ago

Fresno Woman Killed in Head-On Collision, CHP Investigating

President Donald Trump and Elon Musk attend a press conference in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 30, 2025. (Reuters File)
14 hours ago

Musk Vows to Punish Lawmakers Who Back Trump’s Spending Bill

14 hours ago

Fresno Man Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years for $4.2 Million Tech Startup Fraud

Bryan Koberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students, listens during a hearing to overturn his grand jury indictment in Moscow, Idaho, U.S., October 26, 2023. (Reuters File)
14 hours ago

Bryan Kohberger Pleads Guilty in Murders of Four Idaho Students, ABC News Reports

The Blanca Fire, burning 12 acres northwest of Lake Madera Country Estates in Madera County, remains active with 0% containment and no reported injuries or structural damage as the cause is under investigation as of Monday, June 30, 2025. (CalFire)
14 hours ago

Wildfire Near Lake Madera Country Estates Burns 12 Acres, Now 100% Contained

Fresno County CHP arrested two on Interstate 5 after finding about one kilogram of suspected cocaine, a loaded ghost gun, and counterfeit money during a vehicle search on Sunday, June 29, 2025. (CHP)
15 hours ago

Fresno County CHP Arrest Two in Interstate 5 Drug, Gun, and Counterfeit Money Bust

Gov. Newsom warns Californians to celebrate the Fourth of July safely, emphasizing zero tolerance for illegal fireworks which have surged to over 600,000 pounds seized this year. (Shutterstock)
15 hours ago

California Seizes Over 600,000 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks. Newsom Calls for Safe Celebrations

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend