PHOENIX (AZFamily)<\/b> \u2014 On a scorching summer day in Phoenix, the heat can be different.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s pretty hot outside,\u201d said one woman at Encanto Park on Friday.<\/p>\n
But for others, days that top out at 113 degrees aren\u2019t too bad.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s fine, just fishing,\u201d said a man at Encanto.<\/p>\n
One thing we can all agree on is that it hasn\u2019t been as brutal a summer as it was last year, so far.<\/p>\n
In July, the National Weather Service (NWS) in Phoenix issued 10 days\u2019 worth of extreme heat warnings. For the same month of 2024, the number was more than double. <\/p>\n
Does it mean that the number of mountain rescues the Phoenix Fire Department responded to also dropped significantly?<\/p>\n
Data from the Phoenix Fire Department showed the number of mountain rescues between January and the end of July decreased from 116 in 2024 to 108 in 2025. Camelback Mountain, however, actually saw an increase in rescues from 35 to 44 during the same time frame.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope that messaging is more out there. We did not have as many extreme heat days in July as we did last year. Like you said our numbers are still pretty consistent, people are still hitting the mountains,\u201d said Phoenix Fire Capt. Rob McDade.<\/p>\n
While the numbers are pretty similar, those extra few degrees on extremely hot days can make a difference when we\u2019re talking about health.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is absolutely more dangerous,\u201d said Banner Urgent Care Nurse Practitioner Samia Kadri.<\/p>\n
Kadri says the hotter it is outside, the quicker your body becomes dehydrated. With the extreme temps on the way, McDade says technical rescue crews are already preparing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose are the rescues we worry about the most, not only because that probably means we have someone in extreme danger if they\u2019re calling us in the middle of the day and it\u2019s 111 out, but again putting our rescuers on that mountain,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
On days when the NWS issues an extreme heat warning, the following trails are restricted from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.:<\/p>\n
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it<\/a>.<\/p>\n