FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) - A person who disappeared from a rafting trip on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon during a flash flood was found dead Thursday in icy waters, while a second person was found alive, a spokeswoman said. from the park.
The flooding was part of the monsoon storms that have flooded Arizona this week, including in Flagstaff, where city streets were muddy as water mixed with logs and debris. The cleanup began Thursday with the threat of more rain.
At the Grand Canyon, a torrent of water ripped through a slot canyon and washed away the campground where two commercial rafts carrying 30 passengers left the river to stay Wednesday night, Grand Canyon spokeswoman Joelle Baird said.
Authorities initially believed that two people had been swept into the river and launched an air, land and water search to find them. One was found in the camp that the group had left to find a safer place to sleep, Baird said. The other was found dead in the water next to the camp that was flooded, he said.
The motorized trip operated by Arizona Raft Adventures was scheduled to last more than a week. On Thursday, a company spokeswoman referred questions to John Dillon, the executive director of the Grand Canyon River Providers Association that represents providers allowed in the canyon.
Dillon said he has yet to speak with company officials, one of whom is on another trip down the river. He said that while the shipowners were glad to hear that one beam was found, they are saddened by the death of the other.
"Our hearts are broken because people on the trip lost someone, people at home lost someone," he said. "That matters more than anything else."
A helicopter from the park took two paramedics to the river Wednesday night to treat and stabilize the injured beams after receiving a satellite phone call from someone on the trip asking for help. Seven passengers who were injured were airlifted out of the canyon, Baird said. She wasn't sure the extent of her injuries.
Baird said the park will help other rafters who want to shorten their trip out of the river, he said.
The flooding struck the established camp about 40 miles (64 kilometers) downstream from where the rafts were launched at Lees Ferry near the Arizona-Utah state line, turning the normally greenish river into a muddy brown. Forecasters had issued a flash flood watch for the area on Wednesday, but it is unclear if the rafting guides were aware.
Radar showed about an inch (2.5 centimeters) of rain along that stretch of the Colorado River, according to the National Weather Service.
Park officials did not immediately release the name of the beam that died. At least two other people have died this year on rafting trips in the Grand Canyon that annually attract tens of thousands of tourists, locals and researchers.
James Crocker, 63, of Colorado, died after falling into the river at the top of a rapids in June. Members of his private boat groups pulled him out of the water but were unable to revive him.
Deborah Ellis, 60, of Idaho died after the commercial raft she was on hit rapids and capsized in late April. An autopsy report released to The Associated Press in response to a public records request determined that he drowned.
The entire Southwest, which has been desperate for rain after two years of dismal monsoon activity, has been battered by storms of late. More rain is expected.
In Tucson, a fire department rapid water team rescued a father and his two daughters from the roof of their vehicle Wednesday after they got into a generally dry wash and were stranded in floodwaters, the spokesman said. Golder Ranch Fire District Capt. Adam Jarrold.
"Our message, to tell everyone, be patient, especially here in the desert," he said. "The water rises fast, but it also disappears fast."
Further north in Flagstaff, the floodwaters have flooded communities in the shadow of a mountain that burned down in 2019 and adjacent neighborhoods, sending at least one vehicle floating down a city street. Residents were somewhat prepared for a major flood with sandbags around their houses and concrete barriers to redirect the water. Still, many of them have been digging.
Flagstaff and Coconino County declared a state of emergency over the monsoon floods, opening funds and allowing officials to request state assistance, according to a press release.
Flagstaff is likely to be able to recoup some of the response and repair costs for flood damage related to wildfires under a recent state law. Cities can also receive reimbursements for providing emergency shelter and support to displaced people, but do not allow expenses to repair individual homes.
The threat of flash floods will continue until next week, the National Weather Service said, although coverage will be more scattered than widespread.
โThe humidity is going nowhere and it will also heat up, so they are perfect ingredients for afternoon and evening thunderstorms in Arizona,โ said Evan LaGuardia, a Flagstaff meteorologist.
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Associated Press writers Bob Christie and Paul Davenport in Phoenix contributed to this report.
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