SUPAI VILLAGE, Ariz. – Monsoon took over the popular Havasupai campground Wednesday evening, when two flash floods forced the evacuation of 200 tourists.
Courtney Madeiros was visiting from the East Coast and not used to flash flooding like this, but she said she relied on her outdoors experience, saw the signs and knew it was time to get out.
A once serene getaway turned into a muddy threat Wednesday evening.
Campers watched as Havasu Creek took over their campground after monsoon caused flash flooding in the area.
Medeiros of Massachusetts saw the dark clouds roll in.
“We knew that wasn’t a good sign, so we started packing up just in preparation,” Medeiros said.
They got ready for the thunder, lightning and heavy rain soon after.
“All of a sudden, the creek turned from blue to brown and waterfalls from the canyon walls started falling and the rain was only getting harder and we booked it out to higher ground as soon as possible,” Medeiros said.
Medeiros later found out not everyone saw the signs.
“I talked to a lot of people who actually had water in their tent before they moved because they didn’t realize how bad it was getting outside,” Medeiros said.
According to gauges from the National Weather Service, it was bad enough to bring in rises of up to eight feet.
“Thankfully, we didn’t see anybody actually floating down in the water themselves,” Medeiros said.
The Havasupai Tribe tourist office and emergency response team evacuated the campgrounds and gave tourists food, water and a place to sleep in Supai Village on higher ground.
According to a press release sent out on behalf of the tribe by spokesperson Abbie Fink, a second flood wave hit at about 3:30 A.M. Thursday.
“Of the 200 tourists, there are no reports of anyone missing or seriously injured,” the press release stated.
Tourists were helicoptered out of the canyon throughout the day Thursday. Among them was Medeiros who said she was one of the last couple dozen to be evacuated.
Though her relaxation nestled in the red rocks of the Grand Canyon was cut short by a terrifying experience she said she’d be back, just not during monsoon.
“I think we made very smart decisions, but it was still very scary and I’m still a little jittery about it all,” Medeiros said.
The National Weather Service expected scattered thunderstorms to continue moving into the area in the days following the flash floods.
The tribal council closed down the campground for at least one week and asked tourists to contact their travel agency to move their reservations.
