Exercise safety first when hiking in the heat

There are hundreds of hiking trails available to San Diego County residents and visitors, but it can be dangerous, and even deadly, to not take the heat into consideration before lacing up your boots.

Over the weekend, a 50-year-old woman died after leaving a group of hikers she was hiking with and setting out on her own in the Black Mountain Open Space Park in the City of San Diego.

The county routinely closes parks in remote areas due to excessive heat to protect hikers, but heat can be an issue on any trail. Often, Cal Fire/San Diego County firefighters and sheriff's deputies are called to...