Phoenix firefighters said they have responded to more hiker rescues this year compared with last year, including two rescues Friday morning.

The increase comes as extreme heat continues across the Valley and hiking restrictions remain in place on several popular trails.

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At Camelback Mountain, hikers were still arriving as soon as the gates opened at the Echo Canyon trailhead.

Mike, a Scottsdale hiker who said he has hiked Camelback thousands of times, said he tries to get on and off the mountain as quickly as possible because of the heat.

“Because we don’t have much time. Because 90 minutes before sunset or 2 hours now, so we try to get here early so we can leave early,” he said.

Mike said he carries plenty of water and has seen what can happen when hikers are not prepared.

“I come across many of these people. Usually, as they’re heading down, and they start to get dizzy, and they ask us for water. We give them water,” said Mike.

Phoenix Fire Department Captain D.J. Lee said firefighters are seeing an increase in mountain rescues at popular hiking spots, including Piestewa Peak, Camelback Mountain and South Mountain compared to last year.

“Every single month we’re seeing a little bit of an increase in mountain rescues,” Capt. Lee said. “More and more people come, more and more people hitting the trails, so that could be an attributing factor to it as well.”

On Friday morning, firefighters helped rescue two hikers who suffered from the heat and had to be taken off the mountain.

Multiple people also had to be rescued from Camelback Mountain over the weekend. One woman had to be airlifted and placed in a cool immersion bag, a treatment firefighters said they have had to use more this year.

Lee said the bags are used when a person’s body temperature reaches a certain level.

“That’s when they have to hit that certain temperature of like 104. You’re kind of getting to that heat stroke, the irreversible damage,” Lee said.

Most of the rescues are happening in the morning, according to Lee. Even hikers who start as early as 5 a.m. to beat the heat can still run into dangerous conditions.

“I feel like every single year we’re saying, Stay off the trails. It’s hot. We’re trying to do these restrictions on the trails to keep people and warn them, Hey, it’s hot. You shouldn’t be on here to begin with. It doesn’t matter,” Lee said. “Some people pay the extreme price for doing it. It’s just not necessary in our eyes.”

Fire officials expect hiker rescues to continue until daytime temperatures fall below 100 degrees.

For those who do plan to hike, officials recommend drinking plenty of water before starting, carrying plenty of water on the trails and bringing a fully charged cellphone in case they need to call 911.

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