At least 15 people are feared missing after flash flooding tore through parts of the Grand Canyon on Saturday afternoon, prompting a major search and rescue operation along the Colorado River.
The flooding struck at around 14:30 local time in the Bright Angel Canyon and Phantom Ranch area, according to the National Park Service. As of Sunday morning, 62 people had been evacuated from the area, with additional evacuations planned. No injuries have been reported so far.
The National Park Service initially said in a press release that it was looking for information about more than 20 people who were thought to be missing or unaccounted for. It later revised that number down to approximately 15. The NPS asked anyone who knew of hikers or backpackers who were in the inner canyon along the Bright Angel Creek corridor on Saturday to get in touch.
Bridges swept away and landscape altered
The floods swept large boulders, metal structures, and other debris into the Colorado River, which runs through the park, Al Jazeera reported. Flooding in Bright Angel Creek, which flows into the Colorado River, wiped out footbridges over the creek and significantly altered the landscape, widening the creek bed and creating what appeared to be a new river rapid.
Nikki Baggs, 41, was among those airlifted from the bottom of the Grand Canyon on Saturday alongside her two friends. She and her friends had just dropped off their belongings at a cabin in Phantom Ranch, a remote lodge at the bottom of the canyon, when they decided to venture out to enjoy the nice day. Before they knew it, a flood of water was sweeping through the area.
“The whole thing was terrifying,” Baggs told the BBC. “It was a beautiful day and then people were screaming, running,” she said.
As soon as the rain hit, Baggs and her friends headed toward higher ground, where they sat at a picnic table before rangers yelled to them to run again to a different ledge. They waited there with others for hours before being evacuated at around 21:30 local time. Baggs said she and her friends watched from higher ground as bridges were swept away.
“It was a really uniquely coordinated effort,” she said. “That’s what made us feel safe about all of it in an unsafe situation.”
More storms forecast as search continues
Parth Desai was hiking through a narrow passage in Bright Angel Canyon with a group of fellow doctors and a park ranger when the downpour started. “We saw the creek flood, waterfalls coming up out of nowhere; boulders, mud, landslides happening everywhere,” he told the Associated Press. Jack Schmidt, director of the Center for Colorado River Studies at Utah State University, told AP: “This is a reminder of what a dynamic and active landscape Grand Canyon is.”
Popular tourist spots, including the Bright Angel Campground, Phantom Ranch, and parts of the North Kaibab trail, remained closed on Sunday while park officials surveyed the damage. Rafting trips on the Colorado River have been halted for now. The Grand Canyon is one of the most popular national parks in the United States, with about five million people visiting each year, and the Bright Angel trail is its most popular hike.
The Grand Canyon National Park Service said it is working in coordination with the Arizona Department of Public Safety. The NPS warned that more thunderstorms and heavy rainfall were forecast for Sunday and Monday, which could lead to additional flash flooding, debris flows, rockfall, and changing trail and river conditions.