SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, June 29, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — A Salt Lake City Fire captain has died in a rafting accident on the Green River.
“It is with heavy hearts that Salt Lake City Fire Department share the unexpected passing of Captain Michael Harp,” says a statement issued by the department.
“While the details of this tragic passing are still being investigated, it appears that Capt. Harp was involved in a rafting accident along the Green River.”
Harp, 54, was a 27-year veteran of Salt Lake City Fire Department. He was a second generation firefighter, following the footsteps of his father who also served with Salt Lake City Fire Department, the SLCFD statement says.
Captain Harp was also a dedicated member of Utah Task Force 1 and notably deployed to Ground Zero on 9/11.
“Capt. Michael Harp dedicated his life to the service of not only the citizens of Salt Lake City, but also his fellow firefighters. His legacy of service, leadership, compassion, and contagious laughter will forever be remembered by all who knew him,” the statement says.
“On behalf of the Salt Lake City Fire Department, we extend our condolences to the entire Harp family. Our thoughts and prayers are with family, friends, and fellow firefighters during this difficult time.”
Harp was rafting with a group on the Green River in Dinosaur National Monument on Thursday afternoon when the raft became pinned on a rock in the Hells Half Mile rapids, according to the National Park Service.
The group was able to unpin and secure the raft, but Harp was reported missing and suspected to be pinned under the raft, NPS said in a news release.
About 7:45 a.m. Friday, a commercial rafting company notified Dinosaur National Monument officials that Harp’s body had been found by river guides approximately 10 miles downstream, the release says.
Read more about that fatal rafting at this link.
