Provo fire chief honors captain and family who died in flash flood

Provo fire chief Jeremy Headman addressed the deaths of Provo Fire Captain Spencer Long, his wife and three children during a press conference at Provo City Hall on Tuesday, July 21.

Long and his family were caught in a flash flood near the Sunglow Campground in Wayne County on Friday. The family was reportedly hiking and canyoneering around 11:30 a.m. when they fell victim to flooding caused by heavy rains.

Wayne County Sheriff Deputies first located the body of one of Longs sons before search and rescue crews recovered the bodies of Spencer Long, his wife Katrina Long and the couples three sons Reid Vernon, Thayne Long and Gage Long.

The couples daughter, Lydia Vernon, was not with the family when they went hiking. Headman said community members lined the streets to support her as the survivor of her family.

We were there when Lydia got home and the streets were lined with people, Headman said. It was heartwrenching to see the community outreach and the hockey team on the side of the road.

Headman spoke about the impact Long had on both the Provo Fire Department and community.

Spencer was one of the people in our department that just did everything, he said. He was an amazing firefighter, a great paramedic. He joined almost every team we had available.

Headman said Longs greatest passion was his family.

His absence will be a big loss to us. But the thing that stands out the most about Captain Long was his love for his family, he said.

According to Headman, Long spent much of his time in the outdoors with his sons, riding dirt bikes and playing hockey.

Spencer was the kind of person that touched everybody. He was loved by all, starting from people whove only been on the job for a couple of years to all of us that have been here for many more, Headman said.

Headman thanked the community for the support they have shown in the days following the tragedy.

We appreciate the huge amount of support weve experienced from all the neighboring fire departments, cities and the governor. Everybody is reaching out and offering support, and we really appreciate that, he said.

The funeral for the family will be held Wednesday, July 29, in the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University. The time for the event has not yet been released.