Firefighter Spencer Long seemed made for the life of a first responder.

He was “the guy hanging from the helicopter, rescuing people on the side of the cliff,” recalled his brother Weston Long. “I don’t know anyone that is more prepared, more skillful, talented, trained and experienced in that type of activity than my brother.”

Now family, friends and fellow firefighters are mourning the loss of that outdoors-loving, adventure-seeking civil servant, along with his wife, Katrina, and three children, who perished in a flash flood earlier this month in south-central Utah.

Growing up together on a cattle ranch in Vernal, Clinton resident Weston Long said, Spencer was not just an integral part of the family. He was the Long family’s hero, its north star.

“He was our protector,” Weston said. “He’s always been a natural born leader from the very beginning.”

Those leadership abilities helped propel the 44-year-old Spencer Long to captain with Provo Fire and Rescue.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in health and emergency management from Utah Valley University, he worked as a Hotshot and smokejumper on wildfires before joining Provo’s force. “His unwavering dedication to protecting others and his skills in hazardous operations,” the family’s obituary states, “were the hallmarks of his professional life.”

The family’s challenge, his brother said, is finding how to move forward after the deaths of Spencer, Katrina and their sons Reid Vernon, Thayne Long and Gage Long. (A daughter, Lydia Vernon, was not on the outdoors outing.)

But the pain will always be there. His mother, Wendi Long, wrote on Facebook that the “unimaginable” tragedy has left a hole in her family “that can never be filled.”

‘Powerhouses’ in Provo

Spencer and Katrina married in 2010 in Vernal. The union was later solemnized in the Payson Latter-day Saint Temple. She brought two children (Lydia and Reid) from a previous marriage into the relationship, the obituary explains, and the couple then had two more sons, Thayne and Gage.

“Spencer’s greatest joy was his family,” it says. “As a husband and father, he supported his family in every pursuit.”

Bree Nielson, a longtime family friend whose husband works in the fire department, described Katrina and Spencer as “powerhouses” and irreplaceable members of the Provo Fire family.

It was always so easy to be around Katrina, said Nielson, adding that the joy and laughter around the Long family were infectious. She still struggles to accept that they’re gone.

“It’s so crazy because I have these moments where it hits me that it’s real,” Nielson said. “But for the most part, I’m like, ‘No, that can’t be real. They were too important, too special, too strong.’ It doesn’t feel like it can be real.”

Nielson said she became close to Katrina after her husband began working alongside Spencer.

Being married to a first responder comes with its anxieties, Nielson said, noting that Katrina became one of her greatest sources of support.

Friends also remembered Katrina for her work outside of firefighter circles. She was a businesswoman and co-founder of Summit Medical Spa in Spanish Fork.

Sam Butler, a family friend and fellow spa co-founder, called Katrina an amazing entrepreneur. Butler said she relied on Katrina for always having a plan for the next step of their business.

And while Katrina worked tirelessly to grow the spa, Butler said, her children always came first. Katrina spent countless hours with her kids, supporting them in their extracurricular interests.

“She was the best mom,” Butler said. “Katrina wasn’t scared to get dirty. She wasn’t scared to do something that she’d never done before.”

Their three sons

Weston Long also lamented the loss of three nephews.

He described Reid Vernon as the family’s “Mr. Go–Getter.” He was a boxer, hockey player and a recently returned missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Thayne Long also played hockey and owned his own vehicle-detailing business.

Gage Long was the family’s “little sports genius,” his uncle said, able to rattle off the latest statistics and trades.

“Katrina could run a successful business. Spencer had a full-time firefighting job, and they were all so in sync,” Weston said. “The way they were able to juggle all of that just blew my mind”

A funeral service for the family is scheduled for Wednesday at 10 a.m. at Utah Valley University’s UCCU Center in Orem.