SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Extreme heat takes a toll on us and our environment and even in ways we don't expect, including helicopters, which can be so critical in emergencies. Temperatures have reached nearly 120 degrees in California, and helicopter operations can be limited. Some rescues can even end up grounded. Doug Evans is a helicopter pilot who flies for Stanford Life Flight, a rescue operation in Northern California. Mr. Evans, thanks for being with us.
DOUG EVANS: It's my pleasure, Scott. Glad I could help you out.
SIMON: You had to cancel a flight recently, I gather.
EVANS: Yes. For the first time since I've been flying at Stanford, which is nearly 27 years, I had to cancel a flight going up to Redding because the outside air temperatures were going to exceed 50 degrees Celsius, which is our aircraft limit just as a straight temperature, which is around about 121-or-something degrees Fahrenheit. You know, displays and computers all need cooling, as we know. And, you know, just sometimes, they just get too hot, and they start misbehaving.
SIMON: What can be done?
EVANS: Well, you know, in other parts of California, they operate in these conditions all the time. At Stanford, we very rarely encounter those - that type of heat, but the Central Valley, you know, the Colorado River areas, you know, the Palm Springs, the high deserts can reach those temperatures. You know, they keep aircraft in hangers to keep them cool. And then, at some point, they'll just reach a temperature which they cannot fly. I think you know there was that person in Death Valley that wasn't able to get rescued because the temperatures were high - so high there.
SIMON: Your job is to get out there and rescue people. What's it like to not be able to do that because of the weather?
EVANS: Scott, strictly speaking, we don't do rescue. We just pick up patients at the sides of roads, so there's a slight difference there. But when we say no, that's a tough decision to make. Normally, the majority of our declines are in the winter when we have bad weather and cold fronts.
And as pilots, we don't know the nature of the patient or the instant. They just ask us, can you go to these coordinates or this place? And the pilots will say, yes or no, and - so that we don't get into a position where we think we have to get out there and save someone and be the knight in shining armor. They just don't want that. That has led to a lot of accidents in emergency helicopters. But yeah, it's a tough situation because you ultimately know that someone is not getting medical transport in the quickest possible time because of your decision.
SIMON: Is this your future?
EVANS: Well, it does seem to be getting hotter. You know, we do watch these things over the years. You know, we keep an eye on the weather in our area of operations. Just on my own personal observations, it seems to be getting hotter, but that's just - perhaps just me.
SIMON: So you've canceled one flight so far.
EVANS: So far, yes, just for heat. We will modify flights if it is hot so we take less fuel, less payload so that we can take a patient, but a - just an outright cancellation because of heat, yes. This was the first one.
SIMON: Doug Evans is a helicopter pilot who flies for Stanford Life Flight in Northern California. Mr. Evans, thanks so much for being with us.
EVANS: Very good to talk to you, Scott. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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