PHOENIX (KSAZ) - A 12-year-old boy was flown to the hospital after being overcome with heat. The boy was hiking on a trail in North Phoenix when he began feeling ill. When firefighters arrived he was unresponsive. The boy was hiking with a family friend in the Phoenix Desert Sonoran Preserve along the Apache Wash trail head.
Daisy Mountain Fire Department crews responded to the trail for a mountain rescue Friday afternoon.
"Fortunately the trail was not that difficult, and it was not that far back in, so crews were able to get to him. These are highly trained individuals on these technical rescue team crews with specialized equipment and they were able to get to him really quickly," said Capt. Matt Wood.
Fire crews ran the boy down the mountain. They say he was hiking with an adult male who was a family friend when he was overcome by the heat.
Because of bad cell reception the adult had to run down the mountain to call for help.
"So there was a delay in contacting 9-1-1 so the time first responders got to him he could have been down for as long as 35 minutes," said Wood.
The boy was airlifted to Phoenix Children's Hospital in critical condition. This incident happened just weeks after Phoenix Parks and Recreation considered a proposal to ban hiking in temperatures reaching more than 110 degrees. That proposal was rejected, the high today was 112 degrees.
"As I'm sure you've seen across the valley mountain rescues this time of year have gone up. On these hot days it's important to limit your outdoor activities or maybe go out in the early am hours or late evening," said Wood.
Officials say the boy and adult looked to be prepared and had water with them. Sadly the boy died at Phoenix Children's Hospital Friday evening.