Arizonians are being hospitalized for ‘severe’ burns from asphalt

Arizonians are literally feeling the burn this summer.

Temperatures are so high in Maricopa County that people are going to the emergency room with burns sustained from falling on the ground — and some of those burns are “severe.”

All 45 beds at the Arizona Burn Center at Valleywise Health are full as of Wednesday, and as many as one-third of those patients fell and burned themselves.

The Post reached out to Valleywise Health for comment.

“Summers are our busy season, so we anticipate that this sort of thing is going to happen. But this is really unusual — the number of patients that we’re seeing and the severity of injuries — the acuity of injuries is much higher,” Dr. Kevin Foster, director of burn services at the Arizona Burn Center at Valleywise Health, told CNN.

“The numbers are higher and the seriousness of injuries are higher, and we don’t have a good explanation for it.”

Temperatures in Maricopa will climb to as high as 118 degrees on Wednesday, according to an Extreme Heat Alert on Maricopa County’s government website.

Skin burns at temperatures of 118 degrees or higher, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the ground can heat up throughout the day to dangerously high temperatures. 

The most dangerous type of ground is dark asphalt, which absorbs heat more than other surfaces, according to a study published in the Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering.

“The temperature of asphalt and pavement and concrete and sidewalks in Arizona on a warm sunny day or summer afternoon is 180 degrees sometimes. I mean, it’s just a little below boiling, so it’s really something,” Foster explained. 

“External surface temperatures can reach 180 degrees Fahrenheit, and deep cutaneous burns can happen with only brief contact,” Foster said in a statement on Valleywise Health’s website.

“Exposure often occurs in patients with impairments that prevent them from quickly removing themselves from such contact, leading to severe injury.”

Getting a “pretty deep burn” can only take a “fraction of a second,” Foster told CNN. If skin comes into contact with pavement for 10 to 20 minutes, “the skin is completely destroyed” and is a third-degree burn comparable to surviving a house fire. Treatment for these burns can take years to fully heal, and patients can spend months in the hospital.

Last year, 85 patients were hospitalized for contact burns, seven of whom died of their injuries, according to Valleywise Health’s website. Most patients required an average of two surgeries, and one patient required 18 surgeries. On average, patients with contact burns were hospitalized for 16 days. Of those patients, 33% of them required ICU care and 70% required medical ventilation. 

Humans aren’t the only ones in danger of suffering contact burns in the summer months. Pet owners should take a paws before letting their furry friends venture out onto the hot pavement. Once temps get higher than 95 degrees, the risk of pavement burn increases, according to the Arizona Humane Society.

The Humane Society recommends pet owners do a touch test – if you can’t keep your bare foot on the ground for seven seconds, it’s also too hot for your pet. 

Limiting walks to very early morning and late evening, keeping pets hydrated and in cool indoor environments as well as putting booties on their feet to protect them from burns are a few precautions pet owners can take.