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Another flash flood races down Bright Angel Creek in the Grand Canyon

Distributing drinking water to Grand Canyon Village community members on Sept. 15.
NPS photo
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Distributing drinking water to Grand Canyon Village community members on Sept. 15.

Another flash flood raced down Bright Angel Creek and the Colorado River on Wednesday.

The flood comes after a different deluge on Aug. 29 in the same area destroyed infrastructure and led to the deaths of three hikers.

According to a Facebook post on Wednesday from Grand Canyon National Park, there were no known injuries or road damage from the latest flood to roar down the Grand Canyon.

The post says National Park Service employees reached safety before the flooding began, and that teams are now assessing the damage.

Officials temporarily closed the North Rim to visitors on Thursday morning as the storm passed.

The park’s social media post also says that based on the latest information, all river rafting trips are safe and accounted for.

A different flash flood in late August mangled the critical Transcanyon Waterline that supplies businesses, residents and campsites on the South Rim. This week, officials found the remains of the third person who went missing after that flood.

A Facebook post from the man’s wife confirms the third person to die following the Aug. 29 flood was Timothy Allen Smith of Wyoming’s Star Valley.

His remains were found on Monday near Crystal Rapid on the Colorado River downstream from Phantom Ranch.

Chris Clements is an award-winning journalist for KNAU whose reporting interests include coverage of the Colorado River, uranium and coal mining and public health. Originally from Phoenix, Arizona, he's covered state politics, environmental issues, Indigenous communities and public health in southwest Colorado, Wyoming and Arizona. He's earned awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Public Media Journalists Association. His local stories are regularly rebroadcast on NPR programs such as Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Weekend Edition. Contact Chris at Chris.Clements@nau.edu.