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BEAVER COUNTY, Utah -- Two girls were flown to a Utah hospital on Friday after being struck by lightning in Beaver County, and police say a family dog led relatives to the unconscious girls after the strike, according to KSTU.
Police were called at 10:45 a.m. Friday on a report of two girls who had been struck by lightning. The girls, ages 8 and 16, were camping with relatives near Big Flat in the Beaver Mountains as part of a family reunion with attendees from Payson and Mapleton.
The girls were riding on an ATV and had gotten off the vehicle to look around, accompanied by a family dog. As the girls were heading back to the ATV, they were struck by lightning, according to KSTU.
"The dog returned to the camp and alerted the family," the press release states. "The family followed the dog back to the site where the girls were found on the ground unconscious."
Both girls were flown via helicopter to Beaver Valley Hospital, and from there Life Flight took the girls to Primary Children's Hospital.
The 8-year-old girl remains in critical condition but “has made steady improvements and is responding to the medical interventions from the staff at Primary Children’s Hospital,” a press release from the Beaver County Sheriff’s Office states.
The 16-year-old girl has made “great improvements” and is now in stable condition and healing.
The press release from Beaver County Sheriff’s Office included this statement from the family: