From Deseret News archives:

Utah hikers scrambled to escape flash floods

No known fatalities; rescue crews find all missing campers

Published: Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008 12:27 a.m. MDT
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 
One of the most beautiful places on earth, the remote Havasupai section of the Grand Canyon, revealed its treacherous side last weekend as flash floods ravaged the area.

Josh Kaggie, 26, of West Jordan, was camping with a group of four friends in the scenic waterfall area when the floods struck. It is located on Arizona's Havasupai Indian Reservation, about 40 miles northwest of Grand Canyon Village on the South Rim.

According to The Associated Press, rescue crews found what they believe were the final missing hikers in the area Tuesday, meaning there were no known fatalities.

Thunderstorms dumped up to 6 inches of rain in the surrounding area that drains into the canyon Friday and Saturday, and another 2 inches fell on Sunday.

Supai is one of the most remote towns in the contiguous United States, only accessible by helicopter or by an eight-mile hike or horse ride along a foot trail.

Despite spending Saturday night outside the village on a steep rocky hillside, having to return to the village Sunday and not being helicoptered out until Monday, Kaggie was still upbeat after the ordeal.

"We really enjoyed our time there," said Kaggie, who was with former college friends. "My group handled it well. We made some lucky choices."

Story continues below
Bill Rounds of Salt Lake City, who is going to college in San Diego, was also in the group, as well as Eric Crawford from Bountiful.

Kaggie said he now realizes that in such disasters you are mostly on your own, left to your own decisions and resources.

They believe the first flash flood that swept through probably saved people. It got campers moving to higher ground, before the second, much deeper wave struck.

Kaggie said the first warning signs were about 4 p.m. Saturday when they noticed some debris in the water at Mooney Falls. They returned to camp and two of the friends, Sam Nelson and Rob Lawrence, both from Phoenix, decided to leave anyway, because squirrels had destroyed their food.

A while later, at 5 p.m., a park ranger ran through the campground yelling "flash flood."

Except for a little rain Friday and another brief storm on Saturday, Kaggie said no significant rain fell in the campground or the village area itself.

His group hiked the two miles to the village and then kept hiking up the trail, hoping to reach the Hilltop, where their vehicle was parked. About a mile outside Supai, at dusk, they encountered about a foot of water coming down the trail.

They moved to higher ground, saw the water level stabilize and made camp there.

"We thought we'd be OK," Kaggie said. However, after a short sleep, things changed.

Recent comments

The river, the falls, the canyon. Each day they are never the same....

Never the same | Aug. 21, 2008 at 10:27 p.m.

What? An article that is not filled with people blaming this on the...

Ridgerunner | Aug. 21, 2008 at 9:00 p.m.

Flooding is good for the Grand Canyon. Minor flooding is good for...

Good for the grand canyon | Aug. 21, 2008 at 7:45 p.m.

Image
Josh Kaggie

People trapped by flash floods wait Monday to be evacuated by helicopter from the Havasupai area of the Grand Canyon.

previousnext

Latest comments

It is animal cruelty at its finest to let the ranges be over run with horses...

Utahn aiding poor

This is such an inspiration. Sometimes the problems of the world seem so...

I was able to attend "El Salvador del Mundo" and can say it was very well...

BYU's football team historically does not do well in bowl games....

Utes excited to go to San Diego

I sure hope our non-obsessed fan base rents another plane and buys another...

back to LV Bowl, buffet lines, and another bowl loss. Another season...

U.N. climate conference opens

Fraud. Deceit. Democrats and thieves. All means possible to steal your money...

Playing time tough for Jazz

CJ does not deserve minutes. This guy would rather tweet about his...

I guess you can schedule UC Davis, Bowling Green, Miami of Ohio all in one...

"Stocks rise as investors await Bernanke speech." This is so wrong. Anyone...

Advertisements