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U.S. NEWS Saturday 14 July 2018

Benches, trees, caves provide respite in Arizona flood

By FELICIA FONSECA and day evening and before
ALINA HARTOUNIAN dawn Thursday forced the
Associated Press evacuation of about 200
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — tourists. Some had only
Benji Xie stood beside a trail their swim suits on and had
in an Arizona canyon, his to abandon their camping
camera fixed on a water- gear.
fall cascading into a blue- All the tourists were ac-
green pool where people counted for and no one
swam beneath a double was seriously injured, tribal
rainbow. spokeswoman Abbie Fink
A few hours later, the said.
weather took a drastic turn. The tribe used ATVs, rope
Wind started blowing and manpower to get the
through the trees and sent tourists from the camp-
dirt swirling deep in the ground below the village
gorge off the Grand Can- of Supai to a school, where
yon. Rain came down in they spent the night and
sheets. were given food and sup-
Soon, the popular camp- plies.
ground on the Havasupai A helicopter flew out about
reservation was inundat- five tourists at a time.
ed with water rising high Supai Village saw minor This Thursday, July 12, 2018 photo released by Benji Xie shows flooding from a waterfall on the
Havasupai reservation in Supai, Ariz.
above the shallow creek flooding in and around trib- Associated Press
that runs through it. al buildings.
Water sloshed up around Crews will start assessing rushed through a swimming soon season and an ex- years. Still, it’s a hit to tour-
tents, burying some in the damage Friday to de- hole in a canyon northeast pected uptick in rain this ism in a place that relies on
dirt. Tourists scrambled termine when it’s safe for of Phoenix. In another inci- year. visitors.
to benches, trees and tourists to return, Fink said. dent, seven people died at The canyon is accessible About 400 tribal members
caves as they sought high- The canyon and the road Utah’s Zion National Park in only by foot, helicopter or live in Supai. Many make a
er ground. Some were leading to a parking lot September 2015 when they mule ride, making it cru- living by working in the ar-
stranded on newly formed above it will be closed to were trapped in a flash cial to have as much of a ea’s lodge, cafe and small
islands, Xie said. visitors for at least a week, flood while hiking at a pop- heads-up as possible when store, or packing camp-
The waterfall that Xie pho- she said. ular slot canyon. floods are approaching so ing gear onto the backs
tographed earlier looked During monsoon season, The Havasupai reservation people can seek higher of mules headed up and
much different. rain can fall heavy and lies within a steep-walled ground. down a winding trail.
“Everything is brown fast. Flood waters often canyon that’s relatively flat Klimowski said the agency Rather than panic, Xie said
and muddy now,” Xie, a rush unexpectedly through at the bottom, said Brian contacted the tribe around most of the campers were
25-year-old Seattle resi- normally dry canyons and Klimowski of the National 6:30 p.m. Wednesday with in a state of disbelief about
dent, said Thursday while washes, sometimes with Weather Service in Flag- a flood advisory for the what had happened. Still,
awaiting his turn to be tragic consequences. staff. area. The first hard rain hit he said he would not hesi-
flown out. Ten members of an Arizona “When the water rises, it about 45 minutes later. A tate to return to the water-
The heavy flooding in two family were killed last July can engulf a significant gauge downstream of the falls.
separate events Wednes- when a torrent of rain water part of the canyon area, Colorado River, which flows “That was one of those
and that’s what happened through the Grand Can- places I would look on
down in the campground,” yon, showed an eight-foot Google images while
he said. rise in the water level. bored at work and say,
A tribal website alerts visi- The flooding was minor ‘How do I get here?’” Xie
tors to be aware of mon- compared to previous said.q