By admin 
GRAND CANYON, AZ (AZFamily) — Flash flooding that struck the Grand Canyon’s Inner Canyon last weekend was caused by a combination of factors, not just rainfall, officials said.
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One factor was the perimeter of the Dragon Bravo wildfire, which destroyed the Grand Canyon Lodge at the North Rim in 2025. The fire’s burn scar sat above canyons including Bright Angel Trail, which leads down to the Colorado River. That area is where the flooding took place.
Burn scar and rain
The Transept is one of the areas with access to the North Rim. Bright Angel Canyon and the Colorado River are located nearby, with Phantom Ranch situated further down in the canyon.
Rain fell over the wildfire’s burn scar and drained down through slot canyons in the area.
Rain gauges that were still working from Saturday morning through 3 p.m. recorded significant rainfall. A gauge below the North Rim, upstream from Bright Angel Canyon, recorded an inch and a quarter of rain. A gauge closer to Phantom Ranch recorded just over an inch.
Other gauges upstream from Bright Angel Canyon recorded just over half an inch of rain before going out.
Radar footage from the morning showed rain falling repeatedly over the same area of the burn scar over several hours. At 2:30 p.m., the estimated rainfall rate reached 5 inches per hour.
Warnings and reports
The first flash flood warning was issued at 12:02 p.m. for Supai, an area to the west of the canyon that includes a hike down to a waterfall. The storms were moving to the northeast.
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The first flood warning for Bright Angel Canyon was issued at 2:42 p.m. Flash flooding reports followed at 2:51 p.m., 2:53 p.m. and 2:55 p.m.
At 2:51 p.m., a report from the Grand Canyon said a wash had flooded a trail, making it impassable. At 2:53 p.m., a report from Havasu Gardens said the campground was flooding with one foot of water.
Roughly 11 minutes after the 2:42 p.m. flood warning, flash flooding was already ongoing. Debris from the burn scar moved down in elevation, affecting the campgrounds.
Investigation continues
The National Park Service is asking anyone with information about hikers or backpackers who were in the Inner Canyon along the Bright Angel Creek corridor on Saturday, or anyone who had a campground reservation in that area, to contact investigators. This includes people who had a permit and those who did not.
Anyone who has not heard from or made contact with those individuals is asked to call the NPS tip line at 888-653-0009.
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