Evacuations as rain bursts dam near Grand Canyon

[defendandprotect]

Evacuations as rain bursts dam near Grand Canyon
By AMANDA LEE MYERS, Associated Press Writer
57 minutes ago

PHOENIX - About 50 tourists and Havasupai Tribe members spent the night in a shelter after being rescued by helicopter from flash flooding that tore out of a gorge off the side of the Grand Canyon.

Some people who were believed to be in the side canyon along Supai Creek were unaccounted for after the flood struck during the weekend. No injuries had been reported.

Rescuers planned to evaluate weather conditions and the level of flooding Monday morning before deciding when they could safely resume air evacuations, said Grand Canyon National Park spokeswoman Maureen Oltrogge.

A shelter set up in a gymnasium in Peach Springs held about 50 evacuees early Monday, and American Red Cross representatives were making preparations for the possibility that more could be brought in, Red Cross spokeswoman Tracey Kiest said Monday. She said the shelter would stay open as long as it was needed.

One group of tourists was stranded on a ledge when the water started rising Saturday and washed away their rafts while they were hiking. They were rescued by helicopter Sunday.

"We heard quite a loud rush like a freight train going by," Cedar Hemmings said Monday on CNN. "We went down to where our boats ought to be and they weren't there."



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080818/ap_on_re_us/grand_canyon_flooding

[MinM]

1. Cheney's crony leaves grim Interior legacy

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/16/INRE129JV8.DTL

Does this become part of that legacy? :shrug: