A sudden flash flood at Phantom Ranch in Arizona’s Grand Canyon forced dozens of people to leave the area after Bright Angel Creek rose quickly on August 29.
The National Park Service said 62 people had been evacuated from Phantom Ranch and the lower North Kaibab Trail by the morning of August 30, while officials were also seeking information about more than 20 people who may have been missing or unaccounted for.
Nearly all footbridges across Bright Angel Creek were destroyed, and Phantom Ranch, Bright Angel Campground and the North Kaibab Trail remain closed.
Phantom Ranch evacuees describe Grand Canyon flash floods
Parth Desai, a physician hiking through Bright Angel Canyon with a group, said the weather changed quickly when the storm arrived. He told the Associated Press they saw “waterfalls coming up out of nowhere, boulders, mud, landslides happening everywhere.”
As the group moved toward Phantom Ranch, Desai said a colleague shouted “Up, Up, Up, Up!” after a roughly 4-foot wall of debris headed toward them. The group ran toward a patch of cacti for higher ground and was later rescued by helicopter from the Phantom Ranch area.
Erica Viola was at Bright Angel Campground when the rain began. She said she and about 50 other hikers watched the creek rise before debris started moving through the area. The group was eventually taken out by helicopter, cutting her trip short by two days.
A Reddit user also shared a first-hand account after leaving Phantom Ranch. “Extremely sad! My group and I made it out of Phantom Ranch 2 hours after the flooding. Conditions were really bad, we were so lucky to have made it out of there.”
Another commenter replied, “Glad you made it out!”
Grand Canyon flood damage draws emotional reactions
The Grand Canyon flooding also brought emotional reactions from people who have a long connection with Phantom Ranch. One visitor wrote, “PR is my Happy Place, and I woke up in tears this morning.” They recalled staying there after the September 11, 2001, attacks and said the place had felt like the safe place they needed at the time.
Another Reddit user, who said they had worked on the Grand Canyon Transcanyon Waterline project for five years, described the damage as especially painful to see. They said the project and the national park had a special place in their heart and called it “such a bummer that so much of the hard work everyone has been putting into making the national park a better and safer place is getting destroyed.”
Other visitors shared concern for those still unaccounted for. One person wrote, “This is so worrisome. Hope everyone is safe.”
The National Park Service said Phantom Ranch, Bright Angel Campground and parts of the North Kaibab Trail remained closed while crews assessed the damage. No injuries had been reported, while more thunderstorms and heavy rain remained possible.
