15 people may be missing and dozens evacuated as flash flood tears through the Grand Canyon

By Maria Aguilar Prieto, Tyler Ory and Mounira Elsamra, CNN

(CNN) — About 15 people may be missing at the Grand Canyon after a flash flood tore through the national park, destroying footbridges and forcing the evacuation of dozens of hikers and campers, according to park officials.

The park service said a previous figure of 20 missing or unaccounted for was a working estimate.

The “significant flash-flood event” began after a series of storms swept over Bright Angel Canyon and the Phantom Ranch area Saturday, according to a news release from the National Park Service.

As of Sunday afternoon, at least 62 people have been evacuated, the Grand Canyon National Park said in a statement.

Additional evacuations are planned Sunday in a coordinated effort between Grand Canyon National Park staff and the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

David Gregory, who was hiking with a small group when the flooding hit, was evacuated by helicopter and taken to a local high school before being set up with a hotel room for the night.

“We realized the creek near camp was black with debris and flowing rapidly,” he told CNN.

No injuries have been reported as of Sunday afternoon.

The National Park Service is asking anyone who knows of hikers or backpackers who may have been in the affected area to contact the agency’s tip line.

A series of storms impacted the Grand Canyon beginning early Saturday morning and returning in the evening. About 1 inch of rain has been recorded over the past 24 hours.

The flooding, which began at approximately 2:30 p.m. Saturday, resulted in significant damage to infrastructure throughout the Bright Angel Canyon area, according to the National Park Service.

“Nearly all footbridges spanning Bright Angel Creek were destroyed, eliminating hiker access across the creek,” the federal agency said.

The powerful floodwaters also widened the creek bed, forming what appeared to be a new river rapid, The Associated Press reported.

The Bright Angel Trail is the most popular hiking trail into the canyon, according to the park service.

The Colorado River was closed to river traffic Sunday due to metal structures and debris flowing down the river.

Showers on Sunday were mostly confined to the north side of the canyon, where rainfall rates of up to 1 inch per hour have been observed. More storms are possible overnight into early Monday. Any storms that develop could produce more flash flooding due to high rainfall rates.

Additional rainfall could also bring more “debris flows, rockfall and changing trail and river conditions,” rangers said.

The Grand Canyon is a mile deep, and the national park encompasses 278 miles of the Colorado River, according to the National Park Service. The park is renowned for its iconic geologic and erosional landscape, featuring rocks as old as 1.8 billion years and volcanic deposits dating back five million years.

The park saw more than 400,000 visitors last month, and more than 4.4 million people visited in 2025, according to the federal agency.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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