Grand Canyon flash flood kills one, hikers unaccounted for

The flood at Phantom Ranch

A flash flood swept through Bright Angel Canyon and the Phantom Ranch area of Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona on Saturday afternoon, tearing out footbridges and pushing boulders downstream.

The National Park Service says the event began at about 2:30 p.m. on August 29. Phantom Ranch is a remote lodge at the bottom of the canyon, reachable only on foot, by mule or by river.

Nikki Baggs, 41, told the BBC she and two friends had just dropped their belongings at a cabin and gone outside to enjoy the weather. "It was a beautiful day and then people were screaming, running," she said.

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Casualties and evacuations

The BBC reports that one person died and 15 people remain missing or unaccounted for, citing the National Park Service. The body of a 46 year old man was found on Sunday evening near Crystal Rapids along the Colorado River, the park service told CBS News.

The National Park Service's own news release, dated August 30, states that no injuries had been reported as of the latest available information at the time it was written. The two accounts differ, and it is not clear from the sources when each was last updated.

Sixty two people had been evacuated from Phantom Ranch and the lower North Kaibab Trail as of the morning of August 30. More were due to be taken out of Cottonwood Campground and Phantom Ranch that morning, in coordination with the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

Evacuees are being taken to the Maswik Lodge Cafeteria on the South Rim, where the American Red Cross is coordinating assistance. Baggs said she and her friends waited on a ledge for hours before being airlifted out at around 21:30 local time.

Damage and closures

Nearly all footbridges spanning Bright Angel Creek were destroyed, cutting off hiker access across the creek, the park service said. Staff are still assessing damage to trails, bridges, utilities and other infrastructure.

Phantom Ranch, Bright Angel Campground, the Phantom Ranch Canteen and cabins, and the entire North Kaibab Trail from its trailhead down to Phantom Ranch are closed until further notice. The Black Bridge and Silver Bridge over the Colorado River are also closed.

The Colorado River is shut to river traffic because metal structures and debris have entered the water. There is no estimated reopening date, and the park service says further inner canyon closures may be needed.

Monsoon conditions

The rain came from monsoonal showers affecting the Grand Canyon and the wider southwestern United States. A seasonal shift in wind direction pulls warm, moist air north from the Gulf of California and the tropical Pacific, setting off storms over mountainous ground.

The BBC notes these storms are hard to pinpoint in forecasts and can strike without warning. Because the ground is usually very dry, heavy downpours run off quickly into dangerous flash floods.

National Weather Service flood watches cover large parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado. The park service warned that more thunderstorms could bring further flooding, debris flows and rockfall.