A Family Reunion Hike Goes Awry in Steamy Arizona

Three children and one adult were hospitalized after being rescued along with nine others on a hiking trail amid oppressive heat in Arizona. Citing a release from the Scottsdale Fire Department, ABC News reports that the group, in town for a family reunion, decided to go on an early morning hike Friday on the Gateway Loop Trail in Scottsdale, setting out around 7:30am local time. The fire department was called to the scene less than three hours later to initiate a rescue, and they found the group in a wash under a tree several miles down the trail.

An adult female was taken off the trail via a “big wheel operation” and taken to a local hospital, Scottsdale Fire Capt. Dave Folio tells ABC. The release notes that a 10-year-old victim was transported to a nearby children’s hospital to be checked out, while two toddlers with heat exhaustion symptoms—one a year old, the other 18 months—were also hospitalized. All of the other hikers were said to have been able to leave the trail on their own power.

Folio tells ABC that the group, which had started to run low on water, wisely “called early” for help, before things got too dire. KNXV reports that all parties involved in the ordeal are expected to survive. The fire department ended its press release with cautionary tips about hiking on hot days, as well as a list of symptoms for heat exhaustion and heatstroke. “With the hot desert temperatures in full swing, it becomes vital to follow basic precautions when hiking,” the department notes. (More hikers stories.)