Bryce Canyon ranger dies in industrial accident at astronomy festival – St George News

Park employees take a photo to honor Park Ranger Tom Lorig, who recently passed away while on duty at Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, June 8, 2024 | Photo courtesy of National Park Service, St. George News

BRYCE CANYON, Utah — A ranger in Bryce Canyon National Park died from injuries he sustained while on the job on Friday when he tripped and fell.

According to a press release, Park Ranger Tom Lorig was busy with park visitors at the annual astronomy festival in Bryce Canyon around 11:30 p.m. on June 7.

While directing a visitor to a shuttle bus, Lorig fell and hit his head on a large rock. When a visitor found him unresponsive, he immediately notified a nearby ranger.

National park rangers, medically trained passers-by and local rescue workers worked together to provide life-saving first aid, but were unable to resuscitate 78-year-old Lorig.

“Tom Lorig served Bryce Canyon, the National Park Service and the public as a park ranger, creating connections between the world and these special places he loved,” said park superintendent Jim Ireland. “As our community processes and mourns this terrible loss, we extend our deepest condolences to Ranger Lorig’s family and friends. We also want to thank the National Park Service and Garfield County Emergency Services personnel who responded, as well as bystanders who assisted NPS first responders.”

Lorig worked as a registered nurse in the Seattle, Washington area for 40 years and as a permanent, seasonal and volunteer park ranger for over 10 years, the press release said.

In June 1968, he began working for the National Park Service at Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico.

“Over the next few decades, he worked at 14 national parks, 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, which was particularly dear to his heart, Dinosaur National Monument,” park officials said.

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