Overnight accommodation for tourists at Grand Canyon National Park has been closed following severe flash flooding on Saturday, 29 August. Two people died in "significant" flash flooding along Bright Angel Canyon, which caused extensive damage to infrastructure.
While the park remains open for day use, all overnight guest lodging for the South Rim area, including hotels operated by Xanterra and Delaware North, is now closed "for the foreseeable future" as of 31 August.
More than 60 people were evacuated from Phantom Ranch and the lower North Kaibab Trail. The park has introduced stage 4 water restrictions due to damage to the Transcanyon Waterline, limiting water reserves. Dry camping is permitted at South Rim campgrounds, but all fires are prohibited.
The National Park Service (NPS) has stated that additional thunderstorms and heavy rainfall are possible, which could lead to "additional flash flooding, debris flows, rockfall and changing trail and river conditions." The Colorado River is also currently closed to river traffic until further notice due to "metal structures and debris entering the river."