DEADLY SHELTER

Hiker Died After Lightning Strike While in ‘Tin Shack’

One hiker died, and several others were injured after taking shelter during a storm.

A hiker was killed by a lightning strike while seeking shelter in a Utah mountain’s famous “Tin Shack.” Following reports of a group of hikers near the highest point of Mount Timpanogos during a powerful thunderstorm at around 6 a.m. on September 18, search and rescue teams were dispatched. The 19-year-old man died at the scene, “despite efforts to render aid,” while the rest of his group was injured, according to a statement from the Utah County Sheriff’s Office. First responders and partner agencies treated and evacuated the nine remaining hikers and the dead man. The sheriff’s office’s statement also extended “its deepest condolences to the family and friends of the young man who lost his life.” The agency then said the tragedy is a “reminder of how quickly weather conditions can change in the mountains.” The National Weather Service says, “If you hear thunder, you are close enough to the storm to be struck by lightning.” A weather photographer at the mountain the day of the strike said lightning makes traveling by foot a “whole other ball game,” and the incident “makes it very real—how powerful nature can be,” Taylor Ehat told KUTV.