About 100 treated for heat-related illness at a Colorado air show, officials say
By Raja Razek, CNN
(CNN) — Around 100 people were treated for heat-related illness at an air show in Colorado Springs and 10 were taken to hospitals Saturday, officials said, on a day when temperatures reached into the 90s in the east-central Colorado city.
“The Colorado Springs Fire Department and the onsite operations team worked swiftly and effectively in treating approximately 100 individuals” at the Pikes Peak Regional Airshow on Saturday, the fire department said in a Saturday evening post on Facebook. “Approximately 10 people were transported to local hospitals, while others were provided care and monitored by emergency personnel onsite.”
The Pikes Peak Regional Airshow is a two-day event that is held at the Colorado Springs Airport and supports local aviation museums. The event’s first day – Saturday – ran from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., according to an online schedule.
The National Weather Service had issued a heat advisory for the area on Saturday from noon to 7 p.m. Around 4 p.m., the temperature at Colorado Springs Airport had reached 93 degrees, only 2 degrees short of the day’s record at that location set on August 17, 1962, according to the weather service. The average high temperature at the airport on August 17 is 84 degrees, according to the service.
In a Saturday afternoon post on Instagram, the airshow said attendees should stay hydrated amid the heat, and said a free water station was near a medical station at the center of the grounds.
When reached for comment by CNN, the event’s organizer – the Colorado Springs Sports Corporation Corp. – responded with the statement that the fire department had posted.
“The Colorado Springs Fire Department works and prepares very closely with the airport and event organizers when large events are held. Today, like every day, we had a plan in place in the event we needed to activate it,” Colorado Springs Fire Chief Randy Royal said in the post. “All partners and resources at the airshow handled this incident swiftly and professionally.
“Their quick actions ensured people were taken care of and serious injuries were avoided.”
The post indicated that the event’s second day, Sunday, would proceed.
“Looking ahead to Sunday’s activities, we encourage all attendees to come prepared with water bottles, hats, sunscreen, umbrellas and other essentials to combat the heat,” the post reads.
Sunday “will be hot again and we ask everyone to please stay hydrated, be prepared for hot temperatures, and please stay safe,” Royal said.
A Navy veteran who attended the show Saturday left early because of the heat, he told CNN affiliate KRDO.
“It’s a long ways to the parking lot, and my wife and I are old,” the attendee, Tom Selders, told KRDO.
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