Flooding forces evacuation of campground near Grand Canyon

200 tourists caught in high water at Havasupai Falls

FLAGSTAFF — Rescue workers on Thursday were evacuating about 200 tourists who were caught in flash flooding at a campground on tribal land near the Grand Canyon where visitors go to see towering blue-green waterfalls.

The evacuations came after of flooding hit the Havasupai Indian Reservation, in a gorge off the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

All the tourists were accounted for, and no one was seriously injured in the flooding Wednesday night and early Thursday, tribal spokeswoman Abbie Fink said.

Tourist Benji Xie said people were swimming at the base of Havasupai Falls when the flash flooding struck, sending them scrambling for higher ground.

“The sky opened up. Winds started blowing, sand was blowing everywhere, and rain was coming down in sheets,” he told The Associated Press.

Soon, water was sloshing up around people’s tents, prompting him and his friends to warn other campers to flee.

Some were stranded on islands that formed in the water, while others climbed trees, stood on benches or took shelter in caves, he said.

The tribe used ATVs, rope and manpower to get dozens of tourists from the campground below the village of Supai to a school, where they spent the night and were given food and supplies.

Crews were working to take them out of the canyon by helicopter.

Posts on social media showed muddy water roaring through the canyon.

The canyon is accessible only by foot, helicopter or mule ride, making it crucial to have as much of warning as possible when floods are approaching.

Brian Klimowski of the National Weather Service in Flagstaff said the agency contacted the tribe around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday with a flood advisory for the area.

The hard rain hit about 45 minutes later, and a stream gauge noted a 4-foot rise in Havasu Creek, he said. It rose again at 2 a.m.

In both cases, water receded within two hours, he said.