In brief
A sudden flash flood struck the Bright Angel Trail on Saturday, wiping out footbridges and sending runoff through the lower Grand Canyon. One 46‑year‑old was killed and fifteen people remain missing, prompting a large rescue operation that saw 62 hikers air‑lifted to safety. National Park Service officials are tightening trail closures and monitoring the monsoon‑season for further weather‑related hazards. The incident underscores the dangers posed by heavy rain in a dry, mountainous landscape.
A monsoon‑driven storm struck the Bright Angel Trail on Saturday afternoon, washing out bridges and sending a wall of water through the lower Grand Canyon. One 46‑year‑old man was killed and 15 people remain missing or unaccounted for. Sixty‑two hikers were air‑lifted to safety by park rangers.
<strong>Nikki Baggs</strong>, a 41‑year‑old who was rescued, described the ordeal as “terrifying” and praised the coordinated response that kept her and her friends alive. “We were on a picnic table, then ran to a ledge again,” she told reporters when she learned the flood had swept the footbridges out of the Canyon.
The National Park Service (NPS) has issued alerts for several counties in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado, warning that heavy rain will continue and could trigger more flash floods, debris flows and rockfall next week.
Trail closures and dormitory shutdowns are in place while the agency searches for the missing hikers and assesses damage to the park’s water infrastructure.
