Hiker Burned, Dog Dies After Leaping Into Idaho Hot Spring

by Reuters

SALMON, Idaho — A man hiking through a national forest in Idaho suffered severe burns after his two dogs plunged into a hot spring and he jumped into the scalding water to rescue them, managing to save just one of his pets, U.S. Forest Service officials said on Tuesday.

The freak accident occurred last week in the Panther Creek Hot Springs, a popular spot in the sprawling Salmon-Challis National Forest, about 50 miles northwest of the tourist town of Salmon in east-central Idaho.

Temperatures at Panther Creek, usually mild enough for human bathing, had apparently grown dangerously high, possibly from drought conditions that may have curtailed cool water flows that normally mix with the springs' geothermally heated groundwater, forest spokeswoman Amy Baumer said. ....

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/hiker-burned-dog-dies-after-leaping-idaho-hot-spring-n416026