By admin 
GRAND CANYON, AZ (AZFamily) — The Grand Canyon National Park announced extended closures after deadly flooding left a trail of destruction through Bright Angel Canyon and Phantom Ranch areas.
Read more Motorcyclist’s 152 mph joyride ends in a very cooperative arrest in Surprise
The South Kaibab Trail below the Tip-Off and Bright Angel Trail below the intersection with the Tonto Trail are now closed while damage assessments continue.
The North Kaibab Trail, Cottonwood Campground, Phantom Ranch, the Bright Angel Campground, and the Black Bridge and Silver Bridge were previously closed following the Aug. 29 flash flood.
Several trails, bridges and other infrastructure were damaged or destroyed.
“Maintaining safe access for response personnel and keeping visitors out of hazardous areas is critical as this work continues,” the park said in a news release.
There is no timeframe to reopen the closed areas, officials said.
Search continues for missing Wyoming man
Search crews are continuing their efforts to find a missing Wyoming man after a devastating flash flood swept through Bright Angel Canyon over the weekend.
On Wednesday, the Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue Unit (BORSTAR) searched on foot near Grand Canyon’s Phantom Ranch, while river patrols looked downstream along the Colorado River.
Timothy Allen Smith, 53, a pilot who grew up in Granbury, Texas, and now lives in Star Valley, Wyoming, is the only hiker still missing following Saturday afternoon’s storm.
Rescuers are using helicopters and Bluetooth-detecting drones from the air. On the ground, the Arizona Department of Public Safety is working with Border Patrol and four K-9 officers to try to locate Smith.
Dogs alerted in some spots, and crews returned Wednesday to look for more clues.
“Going down to reassess those areas where the dogs maybe made an alert and had some interest in, but were hampered by debris or mud or other obstacles, so that was followed up with today. We have not yet heard the results from that as they’re still searching today,” said Brian Bloom, incident commander.
Bloom said more than 100 people are looking for Smith and assessing damage to the Grand Canyon’s infrastructure.
The bodies of two other hikers in his group—Dr. John Giusti, 46, and Brent Rosenkranz, 42, both of Granbury—were found by park rangers on Sunday and Monday. The three lifelong friends had been eagerly anticipating the trip, planning to fish and explore the canyon’s trails together, their families said.
Water line damage
The flooding also damaged the park’s main water line and destroyed bridges and buildings at the bottom of the canyon. Park rangers are beginning to evaluate the damage left behind by the floodwaters.
Pictures released by the National Park Service show bridges washed away by floodwaters. Debris, including metal, tree branches and mud, now lines the Bright Angel Campground and Phantom Ranch areas.
Read more Ex-Tempe school employee enters not guilty plea in voyeurism case
Pictures of Bright Angel Campground show debris washed around campsites, though signs and buildings are still standing. Pictures of Phantom Ranch show buildings and walkways with no visible damage from floodwaters.
Park officials are estimating 40% of the Trans Canyon water line was damaged or destroyed. Officials said they are still waiting for assessors to report the full scope of the damage.
The water line supplies water to all of the South Rim, including water for guests to refill bottles and for employees to clean their homes.
Brian Drapeaux, the park’s deputy superintendent, said next steps for fixing the damage or closing the park depend on the full scale of the damage.
“That’s a big question and I don’t think I’m prepared to answer that question without analysis of the damage that’s there. As the assessments come in and we see what our options are, we will start deliberating what those opportunities are for us, and then we will work with our regional and national offices to employ the best solution that starts to provide water to the South Rim as soon as possible,” Drapeaux said.
Residents asked to conserve water
Nearly 2,000 people live in the national park on the South Rim. There is about two to three weeks’ worth of water supply left.
Drapeaux and other park leaders addressed hundreds of full-time South Rim residents at a community meeting. Park officials asked residents to conserve water while they work to understand the extent of the damage to the water line.
Jesse Jaremczak lives at the park. He said residents were already asked to conserve water earlier in the summer because of previous issues with the water line before the flooding.
“That’s scary when you hear two weeks; that’s not a lot of time. And I mean there’s a lot of water being used,” Jaremczak said. “You take a shower, you do laundry. You don’t think of these things normally. Now all of the sudden you’re hyper-conscious about everything. When you’re washing your hands. So I don’t know any of it technically but I know that it’s a scary thing to hear.”
Water conservation methods discussed at the meeting mean tap water should only be used for hygiene and sanitation. The park will provide drinking water to residents and gave out cases of water at the meeting.
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.
Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.
Read more Ex-Fox Sports analyst Mark Sanchez plans guilty plea to charges stemming from fight outside hotel