2-month-old among 25 who jumped into water after houseboat fire at Lake Powell

LAKE POWELL, Utah — A Utah family is grateful to be alive after their houseboat caught fire at Lake Powell.

Maddy Tolman said her family was on board for only about 45 minutes when they heard a loud boom.

“We heard a big boom! Not knowing what it was, we went to investigate. We found the motor on the houseboat had exploded, and caught on fire,” Tolman said. “It was about five-to-10 minutes between the explosion and when the boat was engulfed in flames.”

People had to to jump to safety off this burning houseboat in Lake Powell. All 25 people are safe. Some report hearing what sounded like the engine explode. Latest on @KSL5TV. #KSLTV pic.twitter.com/7nrSXtWmh6

— Deanie Wimmer (@DeanieWimmer) September 14, 2023

Tolman said all 25 family members, including a mother and her 2-month-old baby, jumped in the water to safety. Some were able to grab lifejackets, others were not so lucky.

“We had about 25 people on board, including a 2-month-old, two toddlers, an 8-year-old diabetic, and three more elementary-aged kids on board. We quickly jumped out of the boat and swam to safety on a few boats that had stopped to rescue us,” she said.

The family is grateful to the good Samaritans who rushed to the scene with boats and got them safely out of the water.

“Luckily, no one was hospitalized. No one walked away with any injuries,” Tolman said. “We’re grateful to be alive and grateful for those who saved our loved ones by stopping to scoop us out of the water.”

KSL has reached out to Glen Canyon National Recreation Area about the incident but has not heard back.