Flagstaff, Ariz. (AP) - Park said one person was found dead in the freezing waters Thursday on a rafting trip down the Colorado River in the water from a gun, and a second was found alive. Said a spokeswoman.
The flooding was part of a monsoon storm that flooded Arizona this week. In Flagstaff, city streets became muddy as water mixed with logs and debris passed. Cleanup was underway on Thursday and there was a risk of more rain.
According to Grand Canyon spokesperson Joel Baird, water from the streams ran through the slot canyons to wash the campgrounds and was kept away from the river in two commercial uses with 30 passengers. ..
Authorities initially believed the two had been swept away by the river and began searching the air, ground and water to find them. Baird said the group had left the camp in search of a safer place to sleep. The other was found dead in the water next to the flooded camp, he said.
The motorized trip led by Arizona Raft Adventures was scheduled to last more than a week. On Thursday, a company spokesperson submitted a question to John Dillon, Executive Director of the Grand Canyon River Clothing Association, which represents licensed clothing from the canyon.
Dillon said he had not yet spoken with company officials. One of the company officials is on another trip down the river. He said the team was pleased to learn that one beam was found, but saddened by the death of the other beam.
"Our hearts were broken because people on the road lost someone and people at home lost someone," he said. "It is more important 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 from someone on a trip seeking help. The seven injured passengers were airlifted from the canyon, Baird said. She wasn't sure the extent of her injury.
According to Baird, the park will help other rafters who want to shorten their trip out of the river, he said.
The floods hit campgrounds about 40 miles (64 km) downstream from where the raft was launched at Lees Ferry near the Arizona-Utah border, muddying rivers that are generally greenish in color. I changed it to brown. The forecaster issued a flash flood monitoring device in the area on Wednesday, but it is unclear if the rafting guide knew about it.
According to the National Weather Service, the radar showed about an inch (2.5 centimeters) of rain along that area of โโthe Colorado River.
Park officials did not immediately announce the names of the dead beams. At least two people have died on a rafting trip in the Grand Canyon this year, and tens of thousands of tourists, locals and researchers visit each year.
James Crocker, 63, of Colorado, died in June after falling into a river at the top of a torrent. Members of his private boat group pulled him out of the water, but were unable to revive him.
Deborah Ellis, 60, of Idaho, was killed in a torrent in late April after a commercial raft capsized. An autopsy report published in the Associated Press in response to a public records request determined that he had drowned.
After two years of tragic monsoon activity, the entire southwest region, desperate for rain, was recently hit by a storm. More rain is forecast.
In Tucson, a rapid water team at the fire department rescued her father and two daughters from the roof of a car Wednesday. After they generally led to a dry toilet and got caught in the flood, Capt. Adam Jarold, a spokesman for the Golder Ranch Fire Department, said.
"Our message, especially here in the desert, waits patiently," he said. "The water rises quickly, but disappears quickly."
Further north of Flagstaff, Flooded flood At least one vehicle is floating on city streets in the neighborhood adjacent to the community behind the burning mountains in 2019. Residents had some sandbags around their houses and some of the concrete barriers to divert the water they were prepared for the flood. Still, many of them are digging deeper.
According to a press release, Flagstaff and Coconino County declared a state of emergency in the monsoon flood, released funds and allowed authorities to request state assistance.
Under recent state law, Flagstaff may recover some of the costs of responding to and repairing flood damage related to wildfires. Cities can also receive reimbursements to provide emergency shelters and assistance to refugees, but do not allow expenses to repair individual homes.
According to the National Meteorological Agency, the threat of flash floods will continue until next week, but coverage will be more scattered than widespread.
Flagstaff meteorologist Evan LaGuardia says, "The humidity is going nowhere and it's hot, so it's a great ingredient for Arizona afternoon and evening thunderstorms."
