Utah Firefighter and Family Die in Flash Flood During Weekend Hike

Five members of a Utah family were killed in a flash flood over the weekend after going out for a day of hiking in the southern part of the state.

The victims included Fire Captain Spencer Long, his wife Katrina and three sons, Reid, Thayne and Gage. Their daughter, who was not on the trip, survived.

"It is believed the family fell victim to flooding caused by heavy rains," stated the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office in a release that did not name those killed.

Provo Fire & Rescue confirmed the tragedy in a statement, saying: We are absolutely heartbroken by the death of Captain Spencer Long and his family. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues during this difficult time.

A GoFundMe page links the sheriff’s statement with the fire department and lists the family members who perished. It notes that the couple had a daughter whose "life has forever been changed in an instant".

The family had arrived at a campground near Bicknell for a day trip on Friday. Sheriff officials were called to the site around 17:00 local time (23:00 GMT), where a young male victim was found dead. Subsequent searches recovered two more male victims dead, and the remaining two were located on Saturday. All five were confirmed dead by the sheriff’s office.