Tourists still flock to Death Valley amid searing US heat wave blamed for several deaths

DEATH VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — Hundreds of Europeans touring the American West and adventurers from around the U.S. were still drawn to Death Valley National Park on Monday, even though the desolate region known as one of the Earth's hottest places is being punished by a dangerous heat wave blamed for a motorcyclist's death over the weekend.

French, Spanish, English and Swiss tourists left their air-conditioned rental cars and motorhomes to take photographs of the barren landscape so different than the snow-capped mountains and rolling green hills they know back home. American adventurers liked the novelty of it, even as officials at the park in California warned visitors to stay safe.

“I was excited it was going to be this hot,” said Drew Belt, a resident of Tupelo, Mississippi, who wanted to stop in Death Valley as the place boasting the lowest elevation in the U.S. on his way to climb California's Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the lower 48 states. “It's a once in a lifetime opportunity. Kind of like walking on Mars."

Park Superintendent Mike Reynolds cautioned visitors in a statement that “high heat like this can pose real threats to your health."

The searing heat wave gripping large parts of the United States also led to record daily high temperatures in Oregon, where it is suspected to have caused four deaths in the Portland area. More than 146 million people around the U.S. were under heat alerts Monday, especially in Western states.

Dozens of locations in the West and Pacific Northwest tied or broke previous heat records over the weekend and are expected to keep doing so into the week.

The early U.S. heat wave came as the global temperature in June was record warm for the 13th straight month and marked the 12th straight month that the world was 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than pre-industrial times, the European climate service Copernicus said.

In Oregon’s Multnomah County, home to Portland, the medical examiner is investigating four suspected heat-related deaths recorded on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, officials said. Three of the deaths involved county residents who were 64, 75 and 84 years old, county officials said in an email. Heat also was suspected in the death of a 33-year-old man transported to a Portland hospital from outside the county.

Portland broke daily record temperatures on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and was on track to do so again on Monday with a forecast high of 102 F (38.9 C), National Weather Service meteorologist Hannah Chandler-Cooley said. High temperatures were expected in Portland through Tuesday evening.

The temperatures aren’t expected to reach as high as they did during a similar heat wave in the Pacific Northwest in 2021, which killed an estimated 600 people across Oregon, Washington and western Canada. But the duration could be problematic because many homes in the region lack air conditioning.

Heat illness and injury are cumulative and can build over the course of a day or days, officials warn. In San Jose, California, a homeless man died last week from apparent heat-related causes, Mayor Matt Mahan reported on the social platform X, calling it “an avoidable tragedy.”

In eastern California's sizzling desert, a high temperature of 128 F (53.3 C) was recorded Saturday and Sunday at Death Valley National Park, where a visitor, who was not identified, died Saturday from heat exposure. Another person was hospitalized, officials said.

They were among six motorcyclists riding through the Badwater Basin area in scorching weather, the park said in a statement. The other four were treated at the scene. Emergency medical helicopters were unable to respond because the aircraft cannot generally fly safely over 120 F (48.8 C), officials said.

More extreme highs are in the near forecast with a high of possibly 130 F (54.4 C) around midweek,

The largest national park outside Alaska, Death Valley is considered one of the most extreme environments in the world. The hottest temperature ever officially recorded on Earth was 134 F (56.67 C) in July 1913 in Death Valley, though some experts dispute that measurement and say the real record was 130 F (54.4 C), recorded there in July 2021.

“It’s impressive,” Thomas Mrzliek of Basel, Switzerland, said of the triple digit heat. “It like a wave that hits when you get out of the car, but it’s a very dry heat. So it’s not as in Europe.”

Across the desert in Nevada, Las Vegas set a record high of 120 F (48.8 C) on Sunday and was forecast to hit a record high of 115 F (46.1 C) on Monday. The National Weather Service forecast a high of 117 F (47.2 C) in Phoenix.

Extreme heat and a longstanding drought in the West has also dried out vegetation that can fuel wildfires

In California, a wildfire in the mountains of Santa Barbara County grew to more than 34 square miles (88 square kilometers) by Monday night. More than 1,000 firefighters were on the lines of the Lake Fire, and areas under evacuation orders included the former Neverland Ranch once owned by the late pop star Michael Jackson. The blaze was just 8% contained.

Rare heat advisories were extended even into higher elevations including around usually temperate Lake Tahoe, on the border of California and Nevada, with the weather service in Reno, Nevada, warning of “major heat risk impacts, even in the mountains.” For the third straight day, the town of South Lake Tahoe, California, hit a high of 91 F (32.7 C), beating the previous record of 89 F (31.6 C) set in 2017.

And for the first time in records dating to 1888, Reno reached 105 F (40.5 C) for the third consecutive day. A short time later on Monday, the city set a record high of 106 F (41.1 C), leap-frogging the previous mark of 104 F (40 C) set in 2017.

People flocked Monday to the beaches around Lake Tahoe, especially Sand Harbor State Park, where the record high of 92 F (33.3 C) set on Sunday smashed the old record of 88 F (31.1 C) set in 2014. For the fifth consecutive day, Sand Harbor closed its gates within 90 minutes of opening at 8 a.m. because it had reached capacity.

“It’s definitely hotter than we are used to,” Nevada State Parks spokesperson Tyler Kerver said.

Rush reported from Portland, Oregon, and Snow reported from Phoenix. AP journalists Christopher Weber and John Antczak in Los Angeles; Janie Har in San Francisco; and Scott Sonner in Reno, Nevada, contributed to this report.

CORRECTS TO KIWANI NOT KIWAHI - Sherri Thompson, with her chihuahua 14-year-old Kiwani, arrives at the Cook Plaza cooling center after waiting for the center to open on Friday, July 5, 2024, in Gresham, Ore. Thompson has lived in her car for three years, and can only run its air conditioning for about 20 minutes at a time as it causes the engine to overheat. A heat wave is spreading across the Western U.S., the National Weather Service said, sending many residents in search of a cool haven from the dangerously high temperatures. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

People cool off in misters along the Las Vegas Strip, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Las Vegas. A heat wave is spreading across the Western U.S., the National Weather Service said, sending many residents in search of a cool haven from the dangerously high temperatures. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A camera operator, left, uses a bag of ice to stay cool as Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter Justin Turner, right, enters the dugout as temperatures rise before a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Jason Redmond)

Florence Andersen, 7, eats ice cream while seated next to local mermaid RJ Annest, 16, at Alki Beach, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Seattle. (Audrey Richardson/The Seattle Times via AP)

People shield their eyes from the sun along the Las Vegas Strip, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Las Vegas. The city set an all time record high of 120 F (48.8 C) Sunday as a heat wave spread across the Western U.S. sending many residents in search of a cool haven from the dangerously high temperatures. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A group of youths shelter in the shade after being asked by lifeguards to retrieve their footwear before getting onto the sunny beach area to prevent burnt feet at Castaic Lake beach as the temperature rises Monday, July 8, 2024, in Castaic, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

A person uses a blanket to block the sun while waiting to take a photo at the "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign Monday, July 8, 2024, in Las Vegas. After causing deaths and shattering records in the West over the weekend, a long-running heat wave will again grip the U.S. on Monday, with hot temperatures also predicted for large parts of the East Coast and the South. (Wade Vandervort/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

A person uses an umbrella to block the sun while waiting to take a photo at the "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign Monday, July 8, 2024, in Las Vegas. After causing deaths and shattering records in the West over the weekend, a long-running heat wave will again grip the U.S. on Monday, with hot temperatures also predicted for large parts of the East Coast and the South. (Wade Vandervort/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

People use umbrellas to block the sun while waiting to take a photoat the "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign Monday, July 8, 2024, in Las Vegas. After causing deaths and shattering records in the West over the weekend, a long-running heat wave will again grip the U.S. on Monday, with hot temperatures also predicted for large parts of the East Coast and the South. (Wade Vandervort/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

A Los Angeles County Lifeguard keeps children safe as they cool off at Castaic Lake as temperatures rise, Monday, July 8, 2024, in Castaic, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

People use umbrellas to block the sun while waiting to take a photo at the "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign Monday, July 8, 2024, in Las Vegas. After causing deaths and shattering records in the West over the weekend, a long-running heat wave will again grip the U.S. on Monday, with hot temperatures also predicted for large parts of the East Coast and the South. (Wade Vandervort/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

FILE - A person fills their water bottle while attending the Waterfront Blues Festival, July 5, 2024, in Portland, Ore. Record daily high temperatures in Oregon were suspected in four deaths reported in the Portland area Monday, July 8, as much of the country continued to swelter under an early heat wave. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

A long exposure image of the thermostat at the Furnace Creek Visitors Center taken just after 10:00 p.m., in Death Valley National Park, Calif., Sunday, July 7, 2024. Forecasters say a heat wave could break previous records across the U.S., including in Death Valley. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

People walk in the sun along the Las Vegas Strip, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Las Vegas. The city set an all time record high of 120 F (48.8 C) Sunday as a heat wave spread across the Western U.S. sending many residents in search of a cool haven from the dangerously high temperatures. (AP Photo/John Locher)

People walk through misters along the Las Vegas Strip, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Las Vegas. The city set an all time record high of 120 F (48.8 C) Sunday as a heat wave spread across the Western U.S. sending many residents in search of a cool haven from the dangerously high temperatures. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Lucita Corupuz, 80, visiting from St. Louis, covers up from the sun while visiting the University of Washington campus with family Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Seattle. An excessive heat warning — the National Weather Service's highest alert — was in effect for about 36 million people. (Ken Lambert/The Seattle Times via AP)

People cool off in misters along the Las Vegas Strip, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Las Vegas. A heat wave is spreading across the Western U.S., the National Weather Service said, sending many residents in search of a cool haven from the dangerously high temperatures. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A water-dropping helicopter drops on flames from the advancing Lake Fire in Los Olivos, Calif., Saturday, July 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

Thor Teigen poses in a fur jacket next to a thermometer displaying a temperature of 131 degrees Fahrenheit / 55 degrees Celsius at the Furnace Creek Visitors Center, in Death Valley National Park, Calif., Sunday, July 7, 2024. Forecasters said a heat wave could break previous records across the U.S., including at Death Valley. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

A person cools off in a fountain at Caesars Palace along the Las Vegas Strip, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Las Vegas. The city set an all time record high of 120 F (48.8 C) Sunday as a heat wave spread across the Western U.S. sending many residents in search of a cool haven from the dangerously high temperatures. (AP Photo/John Locher)

An egg lays in a small frying pan at the Furnace Creek Visitors Center in Death Valley National Park, Calif., Sunday, July 7, 2024. Forecasters say a heat wave could break previous records across the U.S., including in Death Valley. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

People cool off in misters along the Las Vegas Strip, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Las Vegas. A heat wave is spreading across the Western U.S., the National Weather Service said, sending many residents in search of a cool haven from the dangerously high temperatures. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Melissa Bolding and Bryan Bolding from Oklahoma City pose for a photo next to a thermometer displaying a temperature of 132 degrees Fahrenheit / 55 degrees Celsius at the Furnace Creek Visitors Center, in Death Valley National Park, Calif., Sunday, July 7, 2024. Forecasters said a heat wave could break previous records across the U.S., including at Death Valley. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

A person wipes sweat from their brow at Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park, Calif., Sunday, July 7, 2024. Forecasters say a heat wave could break previous records across the U.S., including in Death Valley. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

An Israeli airstrike hit a mosque in central Gaza and Palestinian officials said at least 19 people were killed early Sunday. Israeli planes also lit up the skyline across the southern suburbs of Beirut, striking what the military said were Hezbollah targets.

The strike in Gaza hit a mosque where displaced people were sheltering near the main hospital in the central town of Deir al-Balah. Another four people were killed in a strike on a school sheltering displaced people near the town.

The Israeli military said both strikes targeted militants, without providing evidence.

An Associated Press journalist counted the bodies at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital morgue. Hospital records showed that the dead from the strike on the mosque were all men, while another man was wounded.

In Beirut, the strikes reportedly targeted a building near a road leading to Lebanon’s only international airport and another formerly used by the Hezbollah-run broadcaster Al-Manar.

Israel and Hezbollah have traded fire across the Lebanon border almost daily since the day after Hamas’ cross-border attack on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 Israelis and took 250 others hostage. Israel declared war on the Hamas militant group in the Gaza Strip in response. As the Israel-Hamas war reaches the one-year mark, nearly 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory, and just over half the dead have been women and children, according to local health officials.

Nearly 2,000 people have been killed in Lebanon in the latest conflict, most of them since Sept. 23, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Here is the latest:

BEIRUT — The southern suburbs of Beirut were hit by more than 30 strikes overnight, the heaviest bombardment since Sept. 23, when Israel began a significant escalation in its air campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported Sunday.

The targets included a gas station on the main highway leading to the Beirut airport and a warehouse for medical supplies, the agency said.

Some of the overnight strikes set off a long series of explosions, suggesting that ammunition stores may have been hit.

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron called for “a halt to arms exports for use in Gaza,” saying it's urgent to avoid escalating tensions in the region, his office said.

Macron drew strong criticism from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by saying "the priority is … that we stop delivering weapons to fight in Gaza.” He made the comments in an interview with France Inter radio, which was recorded on Tuesday and aired Saturday.

France doesn’t deliver any weapons to Israel, Macron said.

Netanyahu released a video statement in which he called out the French president by name and referred to such calls as a “disgrace.”

In a statement, Macron’s office said “France is Israel’s unfailing friend. Mr. Netanyahu’s words are excessive and irrelevant to the friendship between France and Israel.”

“We must return to diplomatic solutions,” it added.

The statement also said that Macron had demonstrated his commitment to Israel's security when France mobilized its military resources in response to the Iranian attack. French authorities did not provided details about France’s role.

Macron has called for an immediate cease-fire in both Gaza and Lebanon.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An apparent Israeli airstrike early Sunday killed at least 18 people in central Gaza, Palestinian medical officials said.

The strike hit a mosque sheltering displaced people near the al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in the town of Deir al-Balah, the hospital said in a statement.

An Associated Press journalist counted the bodies at the hospital morgue. Hospital records showed that the dead were all men. Another two men were critically wounded, the hospital said.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment about the strike on the mosque.

The latest strikes add to the mounting Palestinian death toll in Gaza, which is now nearing 42,000 according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths, but many of the dead were women and children.

BEIRUT — Powerful new explosions rocked Beirut’s southern suburbs late Saturday as Israel expanded its bombardment in Lebanon, also striking a Palestinian refugee camp deep in the north for the first time as it targeted both Hezbollah and Hamas fighters.

Thousands of people in Lebanon, including Palestinian refugees, continued to flee the widening conflict in the region, while rallies were held around the world marking the approaching anniversary of the start of the war in Gaza.

The strong explosions began near midnight after Israel’s military urged residents to evacuate areas in Beirut’s Haret Hreik and Choueifat neighborhoods. AP video showed the blasts illuminating the densely populated southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a strong presence. They followed a day of sporadic strikes and the nearly continuous buzz of reconnaissance drones.

Israel’s military confirmed it was striking targets near Beirut and said about 30 projectiles had crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory.

A man checks the site of an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Emergency workers inspect a building that was hit in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Israeli soldiers pray at a staging area in northern Israel, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

An Israeli soldier prays at a staging area in northern Israel, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

People check the site of an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Smoke rises from a destroyed building at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Mourners gather around the bodies of Palestinian men who were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)