BRYCE CANYON, Utah — A ranger at Bryce Canyon National Park died from injuries sustained after tripping and falling while working on Friday.
Visitors lined up for the shuttle at Bryce Canyon National Park in Bryce Canyon, Utah, May 30, 2021 | Photo courtesy of Bryce Canyon National Park’s Facebook page, for St. George News
According to a press release, around 11:30 p.m. on June 7, Park Ranger Tom Lorig was working with park visitors at Bryce Canyon’s annual Astronomy Festival.
While directing a visitor to a shuttle bus, Lorig fell and struck his head on a large rock. Finding him unresponsive, a visitor quickly notified a nearby law enforcement ranger.
National park rangers, medically-trained bystanders and local emergency personnel cooperated to provide initial life-saving care, but were unsuccessful in reviving Lorig, who was 78 years old.
“Tom Lorig served Bryce Canyon, the National Park Service, and the public as an interpretive park ranger, forging connections between the world and these special places that he loved,” Park Superintendent Jim Ireland said. “As our community processes and grieves this terrible loss, we extend our deepest condolences to all of Ranger Lorig’s family and friends. We also want to express gratitude to the National Park Service and Garfield County emergency services staff who responded as well as to the bystanders who assisted NPS first responders.”
Park staff take a photo to pay tribute to Park Ranger Tom Lorig, who died recently while on duty in Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, June 8, 2024 | Photo courtesy of National Park Service, St. George News
Lorig served for 40 years as a registered nurse in the Seattle, Washington area, and for over 10 years as a permanent, seasonal, and volunteer park ranger, the media release added.
He began his work with the National Park Service at Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico in June of 1968.
“In the decades that followed, he would serve at 14 national park sites including Badlands, Bryce Canyon, Carlsbad Caverns, El Malpais, Florissant Fossil Beds, Glen Canyon, Klondike Gold Rush, Mount Rainier, New River Gorge, Olympic, Saguaro, Yosemite, Zion and Dinosaur National Monument, of which he was especially fond,” park staff noted.
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