A desperate search continued Sunday for at least 15 hikers who remained missing after a violent flash flood tore through the Grand Canyon, transforming popular trails and campgrounds into a deadly torrent of mud, debris, and raging water.
The National Park Service confirmed that a 46-year-old man had died as rescue crews searched Bright Angel Canyon and Phantom Ranch.
The flood struck around 2:30 p.m. Saturday, leaving little time for hikers to escape the narrow canyon corridor.
Terrifying footage showed muddy water surging through the ravine with enough force to sweep what appeared to be a building downstream.
Logs, vegetation, rocks, and other debris churned through the canyon as the flood swallowed trails in its path.
Separate rescue video captured helicopter crews carrying stranded visitors to safety while heavy rain battered the aircraft.
The destruction below offered a grim picture of the conditions confronting rescuers as they raced against time and dangerous weather.
Park officials initially requested information about more than 20 people who could not be located.
A spokesman later revised the number to at least 15, though authorities had not determined whether those individuals were caught in the flood or had simply not checked in.
The National Park Service asked anyone with information about hikers or backpackers traveling through the Bright Angel Creek corridor on August 29 to contact investigators.
Officials also sought details about visitors holding campground reservations anywhere within the affected area.
The appeal included anyone who used the North Kaibab Trail between the trailhead and Phantom Ranch.
Authorities also wanted information about people staying at Bright Angel Campground or traveling through the narrow canyon area north of Phantom Ranch known as the Box.
By Sunday morning, search and rescue crews had evacuated 62 people from Phantom Ranch and the lower North Kaibab Trail.
The immediate airlift operation continued as officials prepared to remove additional visitors from Phantom Ranch and Cottonwood Campground.
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Phantom Ranch and the full North Kaibab Trail were closed until further notice.
Park authorities urged visitors to “not attempt to access the closed areas.”
With unstable conditions and damaged infrastructure, ignoring that warning could put both tourists and rescuers in even greater danger.
The disaster also forced the park to announce widespread lodging closures beginning Monday.
Hotels operated by Xanterra, including El Tovar, Bright Angel Lodge, Maswik Lodge, and Phantom Ranch, were among the facilities affected by the emergency order.
Yavapai Lodge and Trailer Village, operated by Delaware North, were also included in the shutdown.
Water restrictions were planned because the flood damaged infrastructure serving one of the nation’s most heavily visited natural attractions.
Bright Angel Canyon sits roughly half a mile north of the Colorado River and is normally known for flowing water, cottonwood trees, picnic tables, and campsites.
Nearby Phantom Ranch is the only lodging facility located below the canyon rim.
Reaching the remote oasis is no casual roadside stop.
Visitors must travel by foot, mule, or raft along the Colorado River, which makes a major evacuation especially difficult when trails disappear beneath floodwater and aircraft face punishing weather.
A cabin for two at Phantom Ranch costs $226.39 per night, while a group cabin costs $398.39.
Lodge operator Xanterra began contacting affected guests about reservations as officials assessed damage and tried to determine when the area might safely reopen.
The Grand Canyon receives about five million visitors each year, including large numbers from California and across the country.
Saturday’s catastrophe was not without precedent, since a prolonged rainstorm caused major flooding in September 1990, while ten inches of rain struck the North Rim within six hours in 1966 and badly damaged Phantom Ranch.
The disaster followed catastrophic flooding in Nepal that killed at least 750 people, while nine Americans were evacuated and 85 people remained missing.
That flood began after a glacier broke away at 17,000 feet, plunged into a river valley, created a temporary dam, and then unleashed mud, ice, and rock across communities below.
