Grand Canyon Makes Drastic Move After Deadly Flash Floods

Grand Canyon National Park has closed all hotels and lodges on the South Rim after severe flash flooding Saturday killed two people. The park will remain open during the day, but overnight guest lodging is closed “for the foreseeable future,” officials said. When flash floods spread through Bright Angel Canyon, a popular hiking trail, and Phantom Ranch around 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, more than 60 people were evacuated. The National Park Service said that the possibility of additional thunderstorms and heavy rainfall could result in “additional flash flooding, debris flows, rockfall and changing trail and river conditions”. The flooding also damaged the Transcanyon Waterline, leaving the park with limited water reserves, prompting the National Park Service to implement water conservation measures. Hotels operated by Xanterra, including El Tovar, Bright Angel Lodge, Maswik Lodge, Phantom Ranch and Delaware North’s Yavapai Lodge and Trailer Village will all be affected by the closure.

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