Camper killed after Lightning bolt strikes tent at Enos Lake in the Teton Wilderness

Teton County Search & Rescue was notified at 6:25 p.m. on Tuesday, August 2, that lightning had struck a group of backpackers camped at Enos Lake in the Teton Wilderness.

A 22-year-old man lost his life in the event, while another adult man suffered serious injuries. According to reports, the lightning strike the camp of backpackers. The men were traveling through the bush with a company of 14 other people.

TCSAR activated a response by requesting the Teton Helitack interagency helicopter. After the request was granted, three SAR volunteers were flown to the location on Tuesday night by the helicopter. When the ship with the SAR team landed, CPR had been going on for more than an hour. TCSAR members took over, however they were unable to revive the patient.

The chopper made two trips. In the first, the injured patient and one SAR volunteer were flown out of the backcountry by the ship. The injured person was flown to Eastern Idaho Medical Center after being transferred from an ambulance in Moran to St. John’s Health. The Teton County Coroner met the deceased patient at the Jackson Hole Airport after the chopper made a second trip to the area to pick him up. TCSAR is withholding the deceased’s name and place of residence out of respect for the family.

The chopper was unable to return to the location on Tuesday due to darkness and bad weather. To control the situation and support the other party members, the two SAR personnel who were left remained overnight.

The TCSAR volunteers on location informed Incident Command in the morning that two other members of the party required air evacuation from the backcountry. Pacific Creek Trailhead is 12 miles away from Enos Lake. It was feared that the two persons would not be able to complete the journey due to an acute emotional reaction and medical issues that were compounded by the lengthy trip out. TCSAR requested the interagency helicopter once more, but persistent fog prevented a flight until after 11 a.m. When the weather improved, the interagency chopper flew to the scene and took two additional patients and two SAR personnel out of the wilderness.

The National Lightning Safety Council reports that this was the first lightning-related fatality in Wyoming this year and the ninth in the United States.

TCSAR acknowledges the tragic nature of this extremely unusual occurrence and sends its deepest condolences to the dead man’s family and friends, as well as all those involved in the incident. The crew is particularly grateful for the relationship with Teton Helitack and assistance from Grand Teton National Park, which made the interagency helicopter’s use possible.