Updated

Updated · Fox News · Aug 26

Bryce Canyon Rescuers Evacuate 11 Stranded Hikers as 2 Are Hospitalized After Flash Floods

Updated

Updated · Fox News · Aug 26

Bryce Canyon Rescuers Evacuate 11 Stranded Hikers as 2 Are Hospitalized After Flash Floods

Q: How did barely an inch of rain suddenly trap hikers and shut down highways in Bryce Canyon?

Because in Bryce Canyon, a small rain total can turn dangerous very quickly when it falls fast over steep, dry terrain during a monsoon storm. Officials said the storm dropped only about 0.75 to 1.25 inches of rain in the Bryce Canyon-Tropic area, but that amount likely came in a short burst with hail, lightning, a sharp temperature drop and mudslides. In canyon country, intensity matters more than the daily total. Hard rain falling in a short time runs off slick rock and compacted soil instead of soaking in. Bryce Canyon’s trails sit in narrow drainages and below steep slopes, so water funnels rapidly downhill into low points such as the Navajo Loop, Queen’s Garden, Peek-a-Boo and Fairyland areas where the hikers were stranded. Even if skies are clear overhead, runoff from storms upstream can send a sudden flood wave into a canyon minutes later. The same process can overwhelm roads. Near Tropic, floodwater and debris crossed parts of State Route 12, forcing a temporary closure. In southern Utah, highways often intersect washes and drainage channels, so a brief cloudburst can put water, mud and rock on pavement quickly enough to make travel unsafe. The broader lesson is that “barely an inch” is misleading in canyon terrain. During Southwest monsoon season, less than an inch of rain, if concentrated, is enough to trigger flash floods, strand hikers, damage trails and shut roads.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 26

Eleven adult visitors stranded by flash flooding at Bryce Canyon National Park on Monday were led out after rescuers waited for conditions to improve; two were later hospitalized with hypothermia.
Heavy rain swept through the park around 2:30 p.m., trapping four separate hiking groups on trails they could no longer cross safely, though none was swept away.
About 15 to 20 search-and-rescue, EMS and National Park Service personnel responded, helping the hikers out of affected areas including Fairyland Loop, Navajo Loop, Queen's Garden and Peek-a-Boo Loop.
The incident came during the Southwest monsoon season, when Bryce Canyon has warned that clear skies can quickly turn into afternoon storms that trigger flash floods, trail washouts, debris-filled waterfalls and rockfalls.