PHOENIX — When it’s this hot in the Valley, the pavement is even hotter.
In our recent historic heat wave, playgrounds and parks look like ghost towns, the seatbelt of a car sitting in the sun feels like hot irons, and the pavement may be hotter than you think.
An infrared thermometer on a moderately overcast morning at the Central Avenue light rail stop measured seats above 100 degrees.
Then over at a parking lot near Central and McDowell, the pavement measured to be 127 degrees. An outdoor table by 44th Street and the Loop 202 was over 140 degrees on Thursday.
For some, there’s no escaping the heat absorbed in our Valley streets.
”For me I think about the transients, those who have to lay on the ground and sleep,” said Felicia as she was walking to the Downtown Phoenix Library.
At the Arizona Burn Center, they estimate about 30 percent of their patients are those experiencing homelessness.
Director Dr. Kevin Foster says it sometimes starts with drug use on the streets.
”People are using the meth, then they fall down, oftentimes there is no one around to help them up, they remain unconscious for a period of time,” said Foster.
We’re told another significant portion of vulnerable burn patients are the elderly.
“That’s the problem, they go down and they can’t get back up,” said Foster.
During the summer months, the pavement can reach as high as 180 degrees, causing second or third-degree burns.
Arizona Burn Center records show they treated 92 patients from burns on hot pavement when temperatures soared in 2020. That number dipped to 71 in 2021, then shot back up to 85 last year.
With no heat relief in sight, the burn center says they’ve been busy again this year.
“We’re actively taking care of ten of those patients right now, I just walked out of the operating room after operating on a patient who had gone down and suffered really bad pavement burns.”
The Arizona Burn Center says if you do get burned, it’s best not to put ice on it as that can lead to ice burns. It’s best to run the burn under cool or room-temperature water than cover it.