The Incident in 2020 was not the only one that was recorded in Eagle Mountain and the Cedar Valley. I recently was made aware of an incident where a teenager was hit by lighting while dry farming in the Cedar Valley. The Spanish Fork Press on Jun 13, 1912, reported that Joseph Hawkins, 16 years of age son of Eli B. Hawkings of American Fork, was struck by lightning and instantly killed while working on the dry land farm of his brother, about fifteen miles west of that city.” The event was also reported in more detail in The Logan Republican. ON Jun 11th, 1912 they ran this story.
Lighting Strikes Boy
American fork, Jun 7, while at work clearing brush from his brother’s arid farm in Cedar Valley, Joseph Hawkins aged sixteen, was struck by lightning and instantly killed this afternoon at 2 o’clock. The tragedy occurred during a short thunderstorm. Young Hawkins was accompanied by another boy, Mike Marshal, aged fourteen, who was helping him with the work. The Marshall boy was stunned by the bolt but not injured. The team which the two boys were using was also shocked. The farm where the accident occurred, is about 3 miles north of Cedar Fort and is owned by Arthur Hawkins, brother of the dead boy. His parents are residents of American Fork, but neither of them were here when the accident occurred. Eili. B. Hawkins, father, and his brother, Arthur are both between here and California on their way home. Mrs. Hawkins left American Fork yesterday for Garland. She has been notified. As soon as the Marshall boy recovered consciousness and found his companion apparently lifeless, he ran to the next farm for help. Brigham Mulliner, who was working on the farm, went to his assistance. When the two returned they examined the body of young Hawkins and found that life was extinct. Mr. Mulliner placed the body in a wagon and started toward American Fork. Meanwhile, neighbors went to Cedar Fort and notified his relatives in American Fork. As soon as the word was received here, W.S. Timpman left in his motor car to meet Mr. Mulliner. When he met him he placed the body in his machine and brought it into American Fork to the home of the boy’s sister Mr. E.J. Clayson. Word of the boy’s death has not been sent to Mr. Hawkins or his son, as their exact whereabouts are unknown. They are returning from California with a car of honey bees. Besides the sister, to whose home the body was taken, another sister, Mr.s Robert Wagstaff, also lives in American Fork.
The Ogden Standard reported on the following day that the father and brother were still unreachable, but “Mrs. Hawkins went to Garland where she expected to remain for the summer. She was reached by telephone and will return at once.”
According to weather.gov there have been 55 deaths caused by lightning in Utah between 1959 and 2017.
The book OUR ROOTS GROW DEEP A History of Cedar Valley by Margery J. Peterson also has several accounts of lightning in the valley. In a family history of Glen and Evelyn Cook Peterson (Cedar Fort Residents), “He did a lot of riding, was a good horseman, and always had plenty of saddle horses that would buy and trade and sell. He also helped many of the young boys in the town get their first riding horse. He had one favorite, a roan mare, named Roany, that he kept until she was an old horse and got killed by lightning. She was a saddle horse, a stacker horse, a roping horse, a pickup horse, and a workhorse.”
The book also discusses lightning on the topic of fires. “Fires have often been of great concern in Cedar Fort whether they have originated from lightning, agricultural or farm accidents, or campfires on the mountains nearby. In 1992, some 3,500 acres of brush burned north of Cedar Fort near Pole Canyon. Crews came from the Utah State Prison, Uintah National Forest, Salt Lake County, and the Logan HotShots to help fight the fire. In 1999 there was a huge fire on the Long Ridge above the town; there have been many others including haystack and dry farms.”
In Utah during the 2020 fire season, there were 11 wildfires that were started by lightning that were over 1000 acres or caused property damage. So far in 2021 there have been 4 lighting-caused fires and 3 of the 4 have been in Utah, 2 on U.S. Forest Service land, and the remaining one on Bureau of Land Management land.
Mike Kieffer is an IT geek by hobby and trade, with a BS in Information Systems & Technology. He is a proud father of 10, a grandpa, an author, a journalist, and internet publisher. His motto is to “Elevate, Inspire and Inform”, and he is politically conservative and a Christian. Mike has a passion for technology, writing, and helping others. With a wealth of experience, he is committed to sharing his knowledge with others to help them reach their full potential. He is known for his jackassery or his form of self-expression that encourages boldness, creativity, and risk-taking. It can be a way to push the boundaries and challenge traditional norms, leading to creative solutions and positive change.