HELLISH CONDITIONS

Tourists Hit Death Valley in Droves Despite Deadly Heat Wave: Report

Vacationers from the U.S. and Europe appeared unbothered by the sizzling weather.

Huge swaths of European and American tourists appear unfazed by the punishing heat at Death Valley National Park, even after the death of a motorcyclist over the weekend that was blamed on a dangerous heat wave taking over the region. According to the Associated Press, hundreds of tourists from France, Spain and England descended on the barren region in eastern California, as officials pleaded with them to be cautious. Temperatures reached 128 F Saturday and Sunday at Death Valley. “I was excited it was going to be this hot,” said Drew Belt, of Mississippi. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Kind of like walking on Mars.” Tourists even queued to pose for a photo in front of a giant thermometer near the visitor center. Dan Berc, a warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Las Vegas, said: “It’s not cited to be an official temperature sensor.” An unidentified visitor died Saturday in the sizzling desert, only identified as a motorcyclist who part of a group of six. Another member of the group was hospitalized.