Grand Canyon Flood Kills 2 on Reopened North Kaibab Trail as Officials Had Urged 1-Year Closure
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 12
Grand Canyon Flood Kills 2 on Reopened North Kaibab Trail as Officials Had Urged 1-Year Closure
3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 12
Summary
At least 2 hikers died, about 80 were rescued and 1 person remains missing after a late-August flash flood tore through the Grand Canyon’s North Kaibab Trail.
Four current and former National Park Service officials said park safety and land managers had repeatedly urged keeping parts of the fire-damaged trail closed, warning of runoff, rock slides and debris flows after the 150,000-acre Dragon Bravo Fire.
A Sept. 2, 2025 burn-area report recommended repairs, stabilization, hazard signs and an early-warning system; an internal spring presentation also projected runoff potential could rise by as much as threefold in the burned area.
The trail was partially reopened on March 4 and the full North Rim reopened on May 15, with the Interior Department saying crews had made it as safe as reasonably possible despite rapidly changing wilderness conditions.
Officials and former staff said the reopening came amid pressure to restore tourism at a park that generates roughly $1 billion a year, highlighting the tension between economic access and post-disaster safety.