Hiker Dies, Nine Injured in Utah Lightning Strike
Taylor Ehat arrived about 6 a.m. Friday at a photography location near Mill Canyon, several miles from the Mount Timpanogos trailhead. He had woken early that morning and headed out to watch thunderstorms move across the mountain, a place he knew well from earlier trips for this kind of weather. “I’ve been up to this spot near Mill Canyon several times, and it’s one of my favorite places to go shoot,” the photographer said. “Whenever there’s a storm that comes in, I love to get up there.”
He was on the ground before sunrise. “When I first arrived about 6 in the morning, I could see there were headlamps on Timpanogos,” Ehat said. The lights belonged to hikers who were still high on the peak. From the base of the mountain he watched storm cells move through American Fork Canyon and across the Heber and Deer Creek areas. Ehat set up his camera for the first frames of the morning without knowing who stood above him near the summit.
Nine hikers traveling in two separate groups were near the summit of Mount Timpanogos in Utah County around 6 a.m. Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. They had reached the top when a large thunderstorm moved into the area. Lightning struck the structure while they were inside. Multiple people were injured. A 19-year-old male hiker, unnamed by authorities, sustained critical injuries.
Mount Timpanogos stands 11,752 feet high, the second-highest peak in Utah’s Wasatch Range. The standard round trip covers about 14 miles and nearly 5,300 feet of elevation gain. Hikers begin at one of two trailheads: Aspen Grove, at 6,910 feet, or the Timpooneke campground, at 7,370 feet. A stone shelter near Emerald Lake had been added in 1959. Congress designated the mountain a federal wilderness area in 1984 even though both structures already stood on it.
Sgt. Garett Dutson of the Utah County Sheriff’s Office said search-and-rescue crews responded around 6 a.m. Friday. Other agencies joined them to provide medical assistance and evacuate those affected. The location and the severe weather conditions presented significant challenges for the responders. First responders attempted to render aid to the 19-year-old male hiker. Despite those efforts, he was pronounced dead.
Four hikers made their way down the mountain unassisted. They suffered minor injuries and were taken to a local hospital to be evaluated. The remaining injured required assisted evacuation. Multiple agencies worked the rescue while active storm conditions kept the operation longer than usual. Dutson said the cause of the man’s death remains under investigation. The sheriff’s office did not release the 19-year-old’s name.
At about 6:20 a.m., from his place near Mill Canyon several miles from the trailhead, Ehat took the first photo he set up that morning. The frame held lightning. “The very first photo I set up to take was this shot that I got — the lightning striking at like 6:20 a.m. The whole day I’ve been showing it off, and then I learned the unfortunate news that somebody was killed,” Ehat said. The strike came close enough to make him uneasy. “There was a moment that I’m like, ‘Okay, that’s pretty close.’ When I did see there were hikers up there, I was very nervous for that. I was like, ‘That’s not good,’” he said. “When that lightning gets involved, it’s a whole other ball game.”
“It’s very tragic and makes me very grateful,” Ehat said. “It hits close to home. I’m very sad that this individual lost their life.” “My heart goes out to them and his family. It makes it very real — and how powerful nature can be.”
The National Weather Service states that small structures such as sheds and shelters do not provide adequate lightning protection. The safest shelter is a fully enclosed building or a hard-topped vehicle. Anyone who hears thunder is already close enough to be struck. Hikers are told to leave exposed ridgelines, peaks, and other elevated areas at once and to seek substantial shelter when it is available. The agency recommends checking the forecast before a hike begins and monitoring conditions the whole way. Thunderstorms can develop rapidly, and lightning can strike well away from the main area of rainfall. Hikers should not wait for a storm to arrive before leaving high ground and should allow enough time to reach a safe location before cells form or move through.
The Utah County Sheriff’s Office said additional information will be released as it becomes available and as family notifications and the investigation are completed.