Three visitors – a man and woman, each 23 years old, and a child – were evidently struck by lightning late on Wednesday afternoon as they were hiking on the St. Mary Falls Trail on the east side of the park.

Park dispatch received a call from an interpretive ranger reporting the incident around 4:30 p.m. Bystanders at the scene began CPR while rangers were responding.

An ALERT helicopter from Kalispell and a Mercy Flight helicopter from Great Falls were requested, and park medics were flown to the scene. Crews and employees from all areas of the park responded to the incident. Park employees and Glacier County Sheriff’s Office personnel used litters to hand carry each individual to the trailhead near the Going-to-the-Sun Road. Glacier County Sheriff’s Office personnel helped with traffic control on the road, which was temporarily closed.

The ALERT helicopter soon arrived on scene, but Mercy Flight was unable to respond due to weather. Glacier County Ambulance from Babb and Browning Ambulance were called and arrived at the scene. The child was airlifted to Kalispell via ALERT and Glacier County Ambulance transported the two adults to Kalispell. ALERT returned and rendezvoused with the ambulance to transport the man and the ambulance continued on to Kalispell with the woman.