With Phoenix temperatures already over 100 degrees at 10am last Sunday, officials closed down a popular hiking trail for obvious safety reasons. One Arizona family, however, somehow took the trail-closure signs to be a welcoming invitation, and set off on a late morning hike — only to call for an emergency rescue team once heat exhaustion set in.
"Our Technical Rescue Teams responded after multiple children were suffering from heat related injuries on South Mountain," the Phoenix Fire Department posted on Instagram, along with footage showing rescuers carrying one of the children down a hill on a stretcher. "Two children were assisted down the mountain in a 'big wheel' stretcher. This was preventable." (See video below.)
As the firefighters say in their post, "If a trail is closed, it's for your safety." They also again remind folks (like they do every year) to: "Hike early. Hydrate often. Respect the heat—our mountains can be deadly."
Previously: Stranded hiker clings to cliff in terrifying video
