LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – A Bryce Canyon National Park ranger is dead after tripping and falling during Friday’s Astronomy festival.
According to the National Park Service, Ranger Tom Lorig was directing a visitor to a shuttle bus around 11:30 p.m. when he tripped and hit his head on a large rock. After finding him unresponsive, the visitor notified a nearby law enforcement ranger.
NPS rangers, medically-trained bystanders, and local EMS worked to revive Ranger Lorig but were unsuccessful.
“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,” said Park Superintendent Jim Ireland, “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.”
Ranger Tom Lorig served for 40 years as a Registered Nurse in Seattle, Wash., and for over a decade as a permanent, seasonal, and volunteer park ranger. He began his work with the National Park Service at Carlsbad Caverns National Park in June of 1968.
Throughout his career, Ranger Lorig 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.
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