Overview
- A sudden flash flood over the weekend near Sunglow Campground in Wayne County swept away five immediate family members who were recreating, killing Provo Fire Capt. Spencer Long, his wife Katrina and their three sons.
- One immediate family member, 23-year-old Lydia Vernon, was not on the trip and has returned home to Mona where neighbors and first responders greeted her with support.
- Fire departments across northern Utah staged a large procession from the Office of the Medical Examiner in Taylorsville down I-15 to a Spanish Fork funeral home, with firefighters lining overpasses and raising ladder-truck arches as a ceremonial escort.
- Long served 17 years with Provo Fire and Rescue and held roles including airport firefighting and wildland operations, a record officials and colleagues cited as the reason for the broad statewide response.
- The bodies were moved to the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner for identification, a public memorial now stands at Provo City Hall, and a fundraiser for Lydia Vernon has raised roughly $270,000 as officials continue investigative and administrative work.