GRAND CANYON, AZ (AZFamily/AP) — Two people are dead, and nearly a dozen more are missing after flash flooding tore through the Grand Canyon on Saturday afternoon.
Officials continued their search and recovery efforts Monday amid steady rain and poor visibility conditions, difficult terrain, and with more potential flooding forecasted.
The body of a 46-year-old man was recovered near Crystal Rapids, National Park officials said Sunday, without providing further details. The second, another person whose age and gender have not been released, was found Monday morning. Roughly 15 people remain unaccounted for.
Dozens of people have been rescued after Saturday’s flash flooding. Hotel accommodations have been closed, and water restrictions were put in place after significant infrastructure damage was done to the Bright Angel Canyon and the Phantom Ranch areas — and to the park’s only water pipeline.
How to report missing hikers
The National Park Service is asking anyone with information about hikers or backpackers who were in the inner canyon along the Bright Angel Creek corridor on Saturday, or anyone who had a campground reservation in that area, to contact investigators.
That includes anyone who may have been:
- Traveling the North Kaibab Trail between the North Kaibab Trailhead and Phantom Ranch
- Staying at Bright Angel Campground
- Traveling or staying in “the Box,” the area north of Phantom Ranch
Anyone with information is asked to contact the NPS Investigative Services Branch at the tip line by calling 888-653-0009 or emailing [email protected].
When submitting a tip, include whatever details you have on the missing individual — name, last known location, travel plans, group size, and a description of their clothing or backpack. Tipsters can remain anonymous; providing your own name is optional.
Timeline of the flooding
The flooding began around 2:30 p.m. Saturday, according to the park service.
By Sunday morning, rescuers had airlifted 62 people out of Phantom Ranch and the lower North Kaibab Trail.
Additional evacuations happened Sunday at Cottonwood Campground and Phantom Ranch, coordinated by the Park Service and the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
Xanterra said that all its guests and employees were evacuated from Phantom Ranch and that the hotel will remain closed until it’s deemed safe for staff and guests to return. The company said it’s currently assessing the extent of the damage to the hotel.
Evacuees were taken to the Maswik Lodge Cafeteria on the South Rim, where the American Red Cross was providing assistance.
Closures in effect
The following areas are closed until further notice:
- Phantom Ranch, Bright Angel Campground, the Phantom Ranch Canteen and cabins
- The entire North Kaibab Trail from the North Kaibab Trailhead to Phantom Ranch
- The Black Bridge and Silver Bridge crossing the Colorado River
Officials have not given a reopening timeline and say additional inner-canyon closures may be necessary. Updates are being posted on the Grand Canyon’s website.
Widespread damage to trails and bridges
The flooding caused “extensive damage to infrastructure” throughout Bright Angel Canyon, officials said. Nearly all footbridges spanning Bright Angel Creek were reportedly destroyed, cutting off hiker access across the creek.
Park staff continues to assess damage to trails, bridges, utilities and other facilities.
The Colorado River is also closed to river traffic until further notice after metal structures and debris washed into the water. River parties already in the canyon are receiving guidance from river operations rangers through the Grand Canyon River Alert system.
Rain also fell on part of the Dragon Bravo fire scar, a burn area left by alightning-caused wildfire in July 2025. Without vegetation, a barren burn scar allows runoff to flow more quickly. The steep, rocky nature of the canyon itself funnels water rapidly.
Overnight lodging halted, water restrictions in place
The flooding also severely damaged the canyon’s aging pipeline, the Transcanyon Waterline, by 40%, leading the park to implement Stage 4 water restrictions for the South Rim.
“The waterline is currently not operational, leaving the park with limited water reserves and requiring significant water conservation measures to ensure available supplies can be maintained,” park officials said in a statement.
Only dry camping will be allowed as spigot access will be turned off. The park will remain open for day use, officials said.
“These measures are crucial for ensuring the safety and sustainability of water resources,” park officials said. “We are asking residents and visitors to help conserve water by limiting showers to five minutes or less, turning off faucets while shaving or brushing teeth, flushing toilets selectively, washing laundry with full loads, and reporting leaks to the appropriate offices.”
The park also closed all overnight hotel accommodations effective Monday. This includes hotel facilities operated by Xanterra, such as Phantom Ranch, El Tovar, Bright Angel Lodge, and Maswik Lodge, as well as Delaware North’s Yavapai Lodge and Trailer Village.
All of its South Rim lodges cannot accommodate overnight guests through September 6, but lodging will be available at its Tusayan sister hotels, The Grand Hotel, and Grand Canyon Hotel and Suites, according to Xanterra’s Grand Canyon South Rim general manager Andy Stiles.
Rescued hiker airlifted to safety
One rescued hiker said the water was moving so fast that if he hadn’t been evacuated, it would’ve been “game over.”
“I definitely think we could have gotten caught up in that side creek, and if we would have fallen in or the water carried us in, I think it would have been game over,” David Gregory said. “Because that creek was moving so quickly, there was so many rocks and tree branches and then once you get into the Colorado River, it was like a whirlpool in there with all the debris circling around.”
Gregory said he and a group of about 20 hikers were pushed back from the water several times before being rescued.
A California couple rescued from the Phantom Ranch area described the rushing waters as biblical.
They ran for their lives in knee-deep water to reach higher ground as a wall of flood water rushed toward them.
“He’s yelling at me, ‘Run, run, run, run.’ I can’t run any faster. I’m going to just die. I mean, I was scared for my life for sure,” Erica Viola recalled. “And he was trying to help me because the day before I had fallen and hurt my knee. So it was treacherous.
“I knew if I didn’t run, we weren’t going to make it,” she added.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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