Multiple People Injured After Being Struck By Lightning At The South Rim Tuesday

Two people are recovering after being struck by lightning at the Grand Canyon Tuesday. National Park Service officials say they received a report at around 2:50 p.m. of people being struck on the Bright Angel Trailhead during a thunderstorm. When crews arrived they found a 30-year-old man and 28-year-old woman unresponsive. The man regained consciousness without intervention. CPR and life-saving interventions were done on the woman and she regained a pulse. Both were transported by ground to Flagstaff Medical Center, as the weather was too severe for air transport. The woman is expected to make a full recovery. Two others went to the Grand Canyon Clinic with lightning splash injuries. This lightning strike is a reminder that Monsoon season brings not only rain, but dangerous and potentially life-threatening lightning during thunderstorms. Serious injuries and fatalities have occurred at Grand Canyon National Park as a result of lightning strikes. Visitors to the park are reminded that if the sound of thunder follows a lightning flash within 30 seconds or less, they should seek shelter in a building or vehicle or proceed to the nearest bus stop to get on a park shuttle. Lightning can strike two points up to 10 miles apart at the same time. In the Grand Canyon National Park, lightning strikes an average of 25-thousand times per year.