Levi Strobel was only 15 years old when a lightning strike took his life near the summit of Mount Blue Sky in Colorado.

But in the terrifying final moments of his life, his family says Levi was thinking about someone else.

He was trying to protect his younger brother.

The Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office said the first report reached emergency dispatchers at 1:22 p.m. on Sunday, July 26, after lightning struck near the summit of Mount Blue Sky and may have injured someone.

A second caller then confirmed that a person had been hurt, bringing sheriff’s deputies, Clear Creek Fire Authority, Clear Creek EMS, Denver Mountain Parks and the Alpine Rescue Team into the response.

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Denver Mountain Parks rangers began life-saving measures when they reached Levi, but the teenager could not be revived at the scene.

Levi’s younger brother was seriously injured and airlifted by Flight for Life Colorado to a Denver-area hospital, while two adult men in the five-person hiking group were treated for minor injuries and one other adult was not hurt.

The group of five had driven to Summit Lake and continued toward the summit on foot, according to local reporting from Colorado Public Radio.

Mount Blue Sky rises more than 14,000 feet above sea level, leaving hikers exposed above the tree line when mountain storms move in.

Authorities identified Levi the following day.

Then his family shared the part of the story that turned a terrible accident into a portrait of extraordinary brotherly love.

In a statement carried by KKTV, the family said Levi showed “the courage and selflessness that characterized his life” as he sought to protect his younger brother during the lightning strike.

They remembered him as a deeply loved son, brother, family member and friend who brought joy into the lives of the people around him.

That joy, his family said, grew from his relationship with Jesus Christ and from the deep love he shared with his family throughout his short but meaningful life.

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They asked the public to give them privacy as they begin processing an unimaginable loss and to honor Levi by remembering his joyful spirit, his faith, his bravery and the love he showed his family.

Even in the middle of profound grief, they said their faith in Christ and His promise of eternal life is sustaining them.

That testimony deserves to be heard clearly.

Levi was not defined by the lightning strike that killed him.

He was a son, a brother, a friend and a young man of faith who saw danger and tried to shield someone he loved.

There is no political spin to put on a story like this.

There is only heartbreak, courage and a family holding tightly to the hope that death does not have the final word.

The tragedy is also a painful reminder of how quickly conditions can turn deadly in Colorado’s high country.

The National Weather Service advises backcountry hikers to plan mountain ascents and descents for the morning and establish firm turnaround times that get them off exposed terrain before afternoon storms develop.

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If thunder is heard above the tree line, hikers should move quickly toward a lower area below the tree line, while groups should spread out enough that one strike is less likely to injure everyone at once.

The agency warns that no outdoor location is completely safe when lightning is present, that a strike can reach several miles beyond the rain beneath a thunderstorm and that anyone caught outside is reducing risk rather than eliminating it.

Forecasts should be checked before a trip, storms should be treated as a reason to scale back plans, and thunder should be taken as an immediate warning to leave exposed ridges and summits rather than waiting to see how close the rain appears.

Those safety lessons matter, but they should not eclipse the young life at the heart of this story.

Levi’s family has asked for privacy as they grieve and for people to honor him by remembering his joyful spirit, his faith, his bravery and his love for his family.

May God comfort the Strobel family, bring healing to Levi’s younger brother and surround everyone who loved this courageous young man.

 

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