BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Utah, June 8, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — A 78-year-old ranger at Bryce Canyon National Park died Friday night from injuries sustained in a fall while on duty, the National Park Service announced.
Ranger Tom Lorig was working at Bryce Canyon’s annual Astronomy Festival about 11:30 p.m. when he tripped, fell and hit his head on a large rock while directing a visitor to a shuttle bus.
Fellow rangers, medically trained bystanders and local EMS personnel attempted life-saving measures but were unsuccessful in reviving Lorig.
“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,” Superintendent Jim Ireland said.
“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.”
Lorig served for 40 years as a registered nurse in the Seattle area and more than 10 years as a permanent, seasonal and volunteer park ranger, NPS officials said in a news release. He began his work with the NPS at Carlsbad Caverns National Park in June 1968.
In the decades that followed, he served 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 Dinosaur National Monument, of which he was especially fond, according to the NPS.
“Tom was a dedicated public servant, and his loss will be felt by the many who knew him across the National Park Service,” a Facebook post from Bryce Canyon National Park says.
