Flash Flood Kills Six Southern Californians In Utah’s Zion National Park

The 20th fatality from Monday’s floods, a 33-year-old man from Hurricane, Utah, was found in Arizona nearly seven miles (11 km) from the Utah border, and six miles (10 km) from his vehicle .

Park officials have not released the names of the hikers, but the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department in Southern California said Sgt. “One of the things that we’ve had to be careful with is making sure that the volunteers and the members that are participating with the search are coordinated; that they have regular communication; and actually work in conjunction with incident command”. By that time, park officials say there was no way to reach them in time to alert them to the violent floodwaters coming their way.

The seven were hiking in a park canyon Monday when heavy rains caused flash flooding that swept them away. “I want to express to the sheriff and law enforcement, so very much from the bottom of my heart, thank you for helping rescue our children and family members”. It is probable today.

The flooding in the Maxwell Canyon area also hit Hildale’s sister town, Colorado City, Ariz.

“Our heartfelt sympathies go out to those affected by the flash flooding in Keyhole Canyon”, said Zion Park Superintendent Jeff Bradybaugh in a press release.

“That little bit of rain can turn what was a very comfortable daylong excursion into a horror story, literally in a split second”, said Colorado-based canyoneering expert Steve Allen.

Witnesses said that after the warning was issued – sometime between 3:30 and 4:30 p.m. – they saw the group head into Keyhole Canyon.

Some in the gathering were new to rappelling and were swimming through limited ravines in a game called canyoneering, yet stop arrangement keeps officers from surveying their expertise level or preventing them from going, even after rehashed notices of the surge hazard Monday.

The Virgin River rose rapidly as more than six-tenths of an inch of rain fell within one hour on Monday afternoon, the park service said.

During the Search and Rescue Operations, more than 60 searchers from multiple agencies contributed 760 hours in their efforts to find the missing people.

He said Keyhole Canyon is one of the shorter, more popular routes at Zion National Park, mostly attracting hikers and canyoneers but not the average tourist.

Debris carried by the flash flood apparently helped push the water dozens of feet outside the streambed, sending the water behind the vehicles and sweeping them downstream as the flood carved a 35-foot chasm in the ground.

Search crews found four of the bodies on Tuesday and another two on Wednesday. “Unfortunately, when that cell hit and that flood came – there was nowhere for them to go”, said Denning.

Like in Hildale, high water levels and continued storms threaten further flash flooding, which has hindered searchers’ access to portions of the Keyhole Canyon. Linda Arthur’s body was recovered at 10:45 a.m. in Pine Creek Canyon.

Authorities have not identified the remaining victims.