Belyruth Ordóñez was an avid hiker.
In recent summers, the 30-year-old and her parents traveled to parks in Utah, where they lived, to hit the trails together.
But on Saturday, the heat proved too much and tragedy struck. Temperatures in Utah’s Snow Canyon State Park soared above 100 degrees F and Ordóñez was found dead, apparently overcome by the extreme conditions.
Her parents, Humbelina and Dario Ordóñez, were found nearby and both were hospitalized with heat exhaustion. They remain in critical condition.
“They don’t know yet that their daughter is dead,” said Melanie Penaloza, a close friend of Belyruth.
“It’s shocking to know that she passed away while walking, because she loved doing that,” Penaloza added.
Ordóñez’s death is one of four heat-related fatalities reported in state and national parks this month. The day before she was found, authorities discovered the bodies of Albino Herrera Espinoza, 52, and his daughter Beatriz Herrera, 23, in Canyonlands National Park in Utah.
The Wisconsin residents got lost while hiking the Syncline Loop Trail and ran out of water, the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office said. Relatives of the Herreras could not be reached for comment.
Earlier this month, six motorcyclists from Germany were overwhelmed by the heat in Death Valley National Park in California.
Other visitors found the group on July 6 and took all but one of the men to the park’s visitor center. The man who remained, Jurgen Fink, 61, was later pronounced dead by park officials, park spokeswoman Abby Wines said.
One of the motorcyclists had to be taken by ambulance to Desert View Hospital, more than 60 miles away. Wines said it was too dangerous for rescue helicopters to fly that day because of the extreme temperatures, which reached 128 degrees.
Three deaths in Grand Canyon National Park over the past five weeks are under investigation, with heat considered a likely factor.
A hike for ‘family bonding’
Heat kills more people than any other type of extreme weather, and it’s getting deadlier, in parks and elsewhere, as climate change makes heat waves more frequent and severe. Parts of the Southwest just experienced their hottest June on record. Maricopa County, Arizona, home to Phoenix, has already seen more than 300 deaths this year that are believed to be related to heat.
While heat-related deaths on public lands are reported every year — 77 hyperthermia deaths were recorded in national parks between 2007 and 2023, according to an NBC News analysis — the numbers appear to be above average early this summer.
“The fact that we have more and more deaths is an indication that more and more people are affected by the heat in their daily lives,” said Floris Wardenaar, assistant professor of nutrition at Arizona State University’s College of Health Solutions and an expert on heat exposure and recreation.
The early summer heat in particular can catch people by surprise, he said. “They’re not used to it yet.”
The National Park Service does not close parks when extreme temperatures occur. Instead, the service focuses on broadcasting weather forecasts, warning visitors of weather hazards, and encouraging visitors to reconsider their plans, such as hiking during cooler times of day.
“Our position is to empower visitors to make informed decisions when planning their trip and choose the right activity based on their skill and experience,” said Cynthia Hernandez, a spokesperson for the National Park Service. “Park managers may close a specific area, such as a trail that doesn’t have much shade, or post more notices.”
“The vast majority of people who visit parks return home safely. For many people who visit parks, the adventure is a big part of the excitement,” Hernandez adds.
But as temperatures in the parks reach record highs, the safety margin is shrinking.
Marlon Olaya, a friend of the Ordóñezes, said the close-knit family from Peru lived in Orem, Utah, and were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The family had previously hiked together in Snow Canyon, he said.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Olaya said. “The intention was to have a family moment.”
Olaya described Belyruth as “humble and kind.”
“She was always a very loving person,” he said. “It’s really sad to see someone like her go.”
Belyruth was an only child and adored her parents, Olaya added: “She always made it clear: her parents were her heroes.”
Olaya said both parents woke up from a coma on Wednesday.
The two have vague memories, Penaloza said, and Dario Ordóñez is on dialysis due to kidney problems.
“We pray so hard that they recover,” she said. “They confuse the past and the present, and don’t remember exactly what happened.”
‘It will be warmer on the trail than you expect’
An analysis of temperatures from July 5 to 7 in the western U.S. suggests temperatures were more than 7 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than past heat waves. The study, by scientists with Climameter, found that both climate change and natural variability played a role in increasing the heat.
According to Wardenaar, conditions on park paths can often be very different from estimates on weather applications.
“It’s probably warmer on the trail than you would expect,” he said. “We’ve done studies with different surfaces here in Arizona and especially where there’s a lot of rock and not a lot of shade, the radiation from the rock can increase during the day and you generate a lot more heat in your body.”
That could have been a factor in the three deaths at Grand Canyon National Park.
Two of those hikers — a 41-year-old man found unresponsive on the park’s Bright Angel trailhead in June, and a 50-year-old Texas man found near the same trailhead on July 7 — have not yet been officially identified.
The third was Scott Sims, 69, of Austin, Texas, who was found “semi-conscious” on the River Trail on June 29, the park service said.
In summer, temperatures on exposed parts of the trail in the shade can reach over 49 degrees Celsius.
A spokesman for Grand Canyon National Park said an extreme heat warning was in effect until July 12. In a statement, the park service said visitors are urged to avoid hiking between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
“If you get hot, cool off by getting wet in creeks and at water stations. Heed the warnings and signs in the canyon,” the statement said. “Always carry a method of water filtration. Heeding the warnings can help you have an enjoyable hike instead of a life-threatening misadventure.”
Wardenaar suggested that hikers should carry 945 ml of water for every hour they walk in hot weather, and turn around before half of their water supply is gone.
Sims’ family members could not be reached for comment, but a woman named Jessica Ryan identified Sims as her uncle in a Facebook post and said she had been walking with him before he died.
“There are no words to describe the events that happened and the emotions we feel now. It’s not just what you see in movies. The most beautiful places are unforgiving. Be prepared. Don’t underestimate nature,” she wrote.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com