LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — A flash flood tore through Bright Angel Canyon on Saturday, sending water and debris rushing through the Phantom Ranch area.
Tom Martin has spent the past 50 years exploring and conducting research on the Grand Canyon.
“Flash floods are a part of Grand Canyon. They are what makes Grand Canyon,” Martin said.
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Steep terrain drives fast-moving water
Martin said the canyon’s cliffs and steep slopes, combined with the desert landscape, mean rain can quickly run downhill instead of soaking into the ground.
“In the Grand Canyon, as in a lot of the southwest desert, an inch of rain might be a tenth of your annual rainfall. So that can be a lot. And if it’s in a small area where there’s been a fire and there are no more trees, no vegetation left to hold the moisture, um, the rain just takes the soil with it down a slope and over a cliff and off it goes,” Martin said.
Martin said trails located in areas prone to flash floods present added difficulty.
“It’s much more difficult when we have trails in areas that have flash floods because then the impact to anybody who hikes those trails is huge,” Martin said.
Encounters with flooding are rare
Martin said flash flooding is part of the landscape, but being caught in one is not common.
“The risk is real. But it’s, it’s not very common,” Martin said.
Martin said people who do encounter a flash flood should find higher ground.
“Um, if you need to climb a cliff, if you need to climb a tree, um, if you need to, uh, run up the side drainers, run up a stairwell,” Martin said.
Martin said he hopes the flooding does not keep people from experiencing the Grand Canyon in their lifetime. He added it is important to pay attention to conditions and know how quickly they can change.
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