Park rangers tried to bake banana bread in a hot car, but it didn’t turn out well

At least it’s a dry heat … or something.

Park rangers in Arizona took to social media on June 28 — just as the temperatures in the Grand Canyon State start reaching unbearable levels — to use some unconventional baking to push an important message about the dangers of leaving any living thing in a hot car.

(Per the National Weather Service, June and July represent the hottest months on average in Tucson.)

In what is something of an annual meme for the park rangers at Saguaro National Park in Tucson, the group decided to see just how far they could push the culinary baking skills of a car.

In short: You can sort of, kind of cook banana bread in a sweltering hot car.

After about four hours of sitting in a car with Tucson’s dry heat beating down on the vehicle, the rangers’ attempt at making banana bread was somewhat successful, but not really if you were actually looking to eat banana bread.

The post from the rangers noted that the bread “was still a bit squishy on the inside.”

(And not that you should need them to, but as Michigan State University noted in November 2023, eating raw dough can leave you rather ill.)

“When in direct sunlight here in southern Arizona, with outside temperatures around 100°f, the dashboard of a car can reach upwards of 200°f in only an hour!” the post said. “In the past we’ve taken this opportunity to bake cookies, bell peppers, and now banana bread, at work dude! We finally took it out around 3pm; admittedly, it was still a bit squishy on the inside.”

“So far, we think cookies make for the most ideal option for cooking in the car.

“You know what’s not an ideal thing to cook in the car? People, and pets,” the rangers warned.

“Based on the previous 27 years of data from the National Safety Council, an average of 37 children die each year from heat due to being left in a vehicle. And hundreds of pets due to the same thing according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.

“If you hear a cry, bark, or similar from a parked car, take action right away,” the post directed.

“It only takes 10-20 minutes inside a hot car to become life threatening,” it explained.

“Call the authorities and proceed from there by following their instructions (HB 2494 was signed in 2017 that allows for certain situations in which a window may be broken to remove the child/pet). If leaving your car just remember, when it comes to heat always check the back seat!”

According to the aforementioned National Safety Council, hot car deaths have tapered off greatly since the late 2010’s.

From 2017 to 2019, a staggering 150 deaths were reported as being linked to a hot car. And that’s just humans — dogs are often the victim of hot cars, as well.

The following five years, from 2020 to the most up-to-date 2024 numbers, saw a total of 117 deaths.