By Nathaniel "Beltway" Steele
The water came fast and gave no warning worth the name. Around 2:30 p.m. Saturday, a flash flood ripped through Bright Angel Canyon, one of the busiest corridors in Grand Canyon National Park, destroying nearly all the footbridges across Bright Angel Creek and severing hikers' access to the trail that leads down to the Colorado River.
By Sunday, the National Park Service said at least 20 people were missing or unaccounted for, according to NBC News; The Washington Post put the number above 20, and The New York Times reported the figure at 15 as agencies worked through conflicting early counts — a reminder that first numbers out of a disaster zone are rarely the last ones. At least 62 people were evacuated Saturday, the Times reported, some airlifted out of Phantom Ranch and nearby campgrounds after floodwaters cut off normal routes out.
The Park Service said the flooding caused "significant impacts" to infrastructure throughout the canyon, the Los Angeles Times reported, without yet detailing the full scope of the damage. One hiker described being airlifted from a campground after the water forced dozens to evacuate, NBC News reported.
Search teams have not confirmed any fatalities as of Sunday's reporting, but the discrepancy between agencies' missing-person tallies underscores how difficult it is to track transient backcountry populations — permit holders, day hikers, and river-trip passengers — in a canyon with no cell service and few ways out once the bridges are gone.
The Park Service is asking anyone with information about hikers or backpackers in the affected area to come forward. This story will be updated as the Park Service releases confirmed figures.
Read the footnotes. The story's always in the footnotes.
— Compiled from reporting by the Los Angeles Times, NBC News, The Washington Post and The New York Times.
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