City expands trail heat‑safety policy after mountain rescue data review
Loading...
Summary
The parks board and fire department reported that trail restrictions tied to National Weather Service extreme heat warnings have reduced mountain rescues at some sites; staff also outlined outreach, volunteer and mapping work to improve hiker safety.
City officials told the Public Safety & Justice Subcommittee Wednesday that trail closures tied to extreme heat warnings have reduced rescues at the city’s most difficult trails and that additional outreach and signage updates are underway.
Parks and Recreation officials described the trails and heat safety program: when the National Weather Service issues an extreme heat warning, access to difficult trails at Camelback Mountain, Piestewa Peak and selected South Mountain routes is restricted between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. The policy was adopted by the Parks and Recreation Board under the authority cited in the presentation (city charter chapter 23; city code chapter 2, article 16).
Assistant Fire Chief Mark Gonzales told the committee that mountain rescues are lengthy, resource‑intensive operations requiring technical rescues and multiple apparatus. "These are long and exhausting operations," he said, describing rope‑lowering rescues where crews are tethered while moving a patient. Fire department data presented to the parks board show rescues have fallen at Camelback and Piestewa since the heat‑safety restrictions were put in place in 2021, though rescues at South Mountain have increased slightly.
The departments also presented demographic and incident breakdowns. For all mountains, year‑round, 70 percent of rescue patients were Arizona residents; for the hot months the share was 69 percent, contradicting the notion rescues are mostly out‑of‑town visitors. The fire department categorized incidents as medical illness or injury and reported that in summer months 76 percent of rescues were for medical illness rather than physical injury.
Parks and Fire staffs said they will continue outreach with park stewards and volunteers, explore updated real‑time closure notices, improve printed and digital maps, and refine the "Take a Hike, Do It Right" campaign to better communicate trail difficulty and heat risks to users.
The subcommittee did not vote on operations; staff described the program as a data‑driven public‑safety measure and said they will continue to adjust closures and outreach based on rescue and weather data.
