Flash flooding ripped through Utah’s iconic Bryce Canyon National Park on Monday afternoon, trapping eleven adult visitors in four separate groups on popular trails around 2:30 p.m. While no one was swept away, the surging floodwaters rendered the trails impassable, forcing a rescue operation involving 15-20 members from the county’s search and rescue team, emergency medical services, and the National Park Service. Rescuers had to wait for conditions to subside before safely extracting the stranded hikers. Following medical evaluations, two individuals were treated for hypothermia and transported to a hospital, while the remaining nine were released. The severe weather impacted several well-known trails, including Fairyland Loop, Navajo Loop, Queen’s Garden, and Peek-a-Boo Loop, highlighting the park’s monsoon season warnings for August and September, a period notorious for rapidly changing weather and intense afternoon thunderstorms that can trigger flash floods, washouts, and rockfalls. Park officials had previously cautioned visitors about the swift and dangerous nature of weather shifts in the canyon and urged them to check forecasts and be aware of conditions upstream before venturing onto trails.
Adapted from: Travel News Today on Fox News
