Grand Canyon floods breach dam, force evacuations

[August 18, 2008]  PHOENIX (AP) -- When Cedar Hemmings and his small party returned from a Grand Canyon hike to the spot where they had tied their rafts, they found that a flash flood had left them stranded.

"We were basically stuck up the canyon without our rafts," he said. "We had no supplies, no food and very little water, we lost everything."

Hemmings and his group were airlifted out of the scenic gorge by helicopter Sunday, as were about 170 other people who were endangered by floodwaters created by days of heavy rains which at one point breached an earthen dam.

No injuries were reported, but dozens of people were spending the night at an American Red Cross evacuation center set up in the Hualapai Tribal Gymnasium in Peach Springs, Ariz..

Rescuers worked throughout Sunday to locate campers and Supai Village residents and safely transport them to the top of the canyon. About 400 Havasupai tribe members live in the village.

Rescuers will evaluate weather conditions and the level of floodwaters Monday morning to decide whether they can safely resume air evacuations, said Grand Canyon National Park spokeswoman Maureen Oltrogge.

Some individuals who were believed to be in the canyon at the time of the flooding are unaccounted for, according to a park service news release.

There were no confirmed reports of damage in Supai, which is on high ground, said Gerry Blair, a spokesman for the Coconino County Sheriff's Department. Many residents and campers chose to stay there, he said.

"We're not as concerned about it as we initially were," he said.

Still, a flash flood warning remained in effect, and search and rescue teams planned to stay in the village overnight as a precaution.

Some hiking trails and footbridges were washed out after the dam breach about 45 miles from Supai, park officials said. Some trees were uprooted, the National Weather Service said.

The Redlands Earthen Dam broke about 6 a.m. Sunday, park officials said. The dam breaching was only one factor in the flooding, Blair said. The dam isn't a "huge, significant" structure, he said.

The area got 3 to 6 inches of rain Friday and Saturday and about 2 inches more on Sunday, said Daryl Onton, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Flagstaff.

"That's all it took -- just a few days of very heavy thunderstorms," he said.

Supai is about 75 miles west of the Grand Canyon Village, a popular tourist area on the South Rim.

The flooding came on a weekend during the busy summer tourist season, when thousands of visitors a day flock to the canyon.

In 2001, flooding near Supai swept a 2-year-old boy and his parents to their deaths while they were hiking.

[Associated Press; By AMANDA LEE MYERS]

Associated Press Writer Mark Carlson contributed to this report.

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