As early summer heat wave moves in, hikers are urged to use caution in local mountains

As an early summer heat wave moves into Southern California, many people will be heading to higher elevations to escape potentially triple digit heat.

But even though high altitude presents cooler temperatures, the mountains can present other dangers.

A 49-year-old hiker from Escondido broke her leg while repelling above San Antonio Falls on June 19th. Fortunately, she was able to send a distress message to 911 by text.

"She got her foot wedged between two large rocks, and as she was trying to remove her foot from the rocks, her leg snapped," said Chris Henry with the San Bernardino County sheriff's department, who added that she had been hiking alone.

"That could be very dangerous, because if the text to 911 doesn't go through, who knows how long she would have been up there and that could have been deadly."

Henry said he responded to another rescue call two weeks prior, where a hiker was suffering from heat exhaustion even thought the ambient air temperature was only 82 degrees.

"Two of (the hikers) didn't have enough water; they carried one little water bottle for a hike with very warm temperatures and exposure to the sun. They should have at least two to three liters of water to be safe."

The San Bernardino County sheriff's department was producing a public service announcement at the volunteer fire station in Mount Baldy, urging prospective hikers this summer to use caution.

"Make sure you have enough water; hike with friends," said Eric Vetere, a commander with the West Valley Search and Rescue team. "(Hikers should) wear loose light fitting clothing, and make sure to start your hike early in the day.

"You don't want to get out here in the heat and try to summit Mount Baldy. We prefer people start early in the morning."