This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Two girls are recovering in the hospital after lightning struck them in Beaver County on Friday morning.
The two girls, 8 and 16, were walking with their dog when lightning struck them about 10:45 a.m., according to a news release from the Beaver County Sheriff's Office. Their families had been camping near Big Flat in the Beaver Mountains for a family reunion.
On Saturday, the 8-year-old remained in critical condition at Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City, but she was making "steady improvements," according to a family statement. The older had made "great improvements," the family said. Both are from Utah.
"As a collective family, we would like to express our gratitude to the total stranger who stopped to render aid," the statement said.
Initially, the Sheriff's Office reported the dog had returned to camp and led family members to the girls, who were found unconscious. But the later statement from the family seemed to contradict that account, saying they had been initially tended to by the stranger, and later emergency responders.
The girls were taken by helicopter to the hospital.
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