On Tuesday, the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office reported that up to three inches of rain caused flash flooding in the town of Tusayan, which is located on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. As a result of the flooding, more than one hundred people had to be evacuated from hotels and staff housing, and a major route was temporarily shut down. It was claimed that U.S. Route 64, which is the road that goes to the entrance to the park’s rim, was three feet under water.
An experienced canyon guide said that he had never encountered anything quite like it in his career.
According to the statements made by the sheriff’s office, around seventy students from the Grand Canyon Unified School District sought safety on the grounds of their schools but were subsequently reunited with their families.
Daniel Fulghum, a guide who works in the Grand Canyon, was speaking with Patrick Torphy of CBS News when he revealed that there were “200 to 300 cars lined up waiting to get through” on the route. There were several members of the emergency response team there.
According to Fulghum, snow plows and backhoes were being used in order to get the mud off of the road.
“I had to wait for five hours just waiting for the water to recede,” he added, “but of course, I wanted to get back to my place” because his seven huskies were famished. “I had to wait for five hours just waiting for the water to recede,” he said. Valle, Arizona, which is about 25 miles to the south, is where he calls home.
“I have been working in canyons for the past fifteen years, and in all that time, I have never once seen anything like it from above the rim.” “It was incredible,” he said afterward.
There were no injuries that were recorded.
After a certain amount of time had passed, Highway 64 was reopened to traffic, although with limited access, and workers immediately started doing damage assessments due to the flood.
Nevertheless, a warning was sent by the National Weather Service office in Flagstaff, Arizona, stating that the danger was not yet over: