Man lost flip flops in Death Valley, suffered third-degree burns on his feet

DEATH VALLEY — A man from Belgium was visiting Death Valley and walked across the sand dunes on his bare feet, causing third-degree burns.

The National Park Service said in a news release that the man either broke or lost his flip-flops when he was at Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes on Saturday. The air temperature was 123 degrees Fahrenheit with the ground temperature higher than that.

Death Valley is considered one of the hottest places on Earth, The Washington Post reported.

The man’s family called for help and had other park visitors carry him to the parking lot because he had burned his feet in the hot sand.

The man had full-thickness burns on both of his feet, the park officials said. A full-thickness burn is also called a third-degree burn.

Rangers decided that with the severity of the burns and the pain the man was experiencing he needed to be taken to an area hospital for treatment. A helicopter, however, was not able to land at the park because of the heat which reduces rotor lift, so he was taken by an ambulance to a different landing zone where temperatures were only 109 degrees before he was taken to a Las Vegas hospital.

Walking barefoot in the sand can cause injuries called “beach feet,” ABC News reported, and can cause first-, second- and in cases like this third-degree burns.

When it is 75 degrees, sand can be 100 degrees, when it’s 90, sand can be 120 or higher, a 2019 study found.

“As the temperature increases, the duration of exposure to the heat source required to result in thermal injury decreases,” the study authors said, according to ABC News.

The Washington Post reported sand doesn’t need as much sun to heat up and that it traps the heat, with burns happening “in minutes.”

Rangers warn visitors to not go further than a 10-minute walk of an air-conditioned vehicle when visiting Death Valley, to not hike after 10 a.m., to drink plenty of water and to eat salty snacks. They also said that a hat and sunscreen should be worn.

Travel blogs also suggest wearing closed-toed hiking boots instead of sandals due to the hot and rough conditions in Death Valley, the Post reported.

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