A 71-year-old man from Los Angeles died Tuesday afternoon in Death Valley National Park amid 121-degree heat, according to the local sheriff's office.
Steve Curry collapsed just after 3:30 p.m. outside the restroom at the Golden Canyon trailhead, the Inyo County Sheriff's Office said.
First responders performed CPR and used an automated external defibrillator, but they were not able to save Curry. While an official cause of death has yet to be determined, park rangers suspect heat played a factor, the sheriff's office said.
Around the time of Curry's death, the official temperature at nearby Furnace Creek was 121 degrees, but temperatures inside Golden Canyon "were likely much higher, due to canyon walls radiating the sun’s heat," the sheriff's office said.
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Earlier in the day, Curry was interviewed at Zabriskie Point by a Los Angeles Times reporter, the sheriff's office said. He was seen covered in sunscreen and hanging out under a sign that offered a small patch of shade.
He had hiked the roughly two miles to Zabriskie Point from Golden Canyon, the sheriff's office said, citing the newspaper. He then left the area and headed back for the Golden Canyon trailhead, where his car was parked.
Other park visitors spotted Curry near the Golden Canyon trailhead restroom and called 911, the sheriff's office said.
This marks what may end up being the second heat-related death in the park this summer, according to the sheriff's office. A 65-year-old man died earlier this month.
To stay safe in the park during the scorching summer months, the park advises visitors to stay close to their air-conditioned vehicles or hike in the park's cooler mountain areas. Hiking at low elevations after 10 a.m. is not recommended.
