People keep dying in the Grand Canyon

Captivating millions of people with its vastness and beauty, Grand Canyon National Park is also one of the most dangerous parks for people to visit at certain times of the year. During the summer months, average daily temperatures can reach over 100 °F (about 37.78 °C), while there has also been an increase in associated flash flooding.

With three new heat-related visitor deaths occurring in the last week of August and 14 since the start of the year, the Grand Canyon has now reached its annual average for deaths despite four months remaining in the year.

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On August 28, National Park Service (NPS) authorities found the body of a 60-year-old backpacker from North Carolina on the trail between Lower Tapeats Camp and Deer Creek Camp.

Three new deaths at the Grand Canyon have been reported in the past week

A few days earlier, on August 25, people on a commercial river trip came across the body of 33-year-old Arizona resident Chenoa Nickerson. The NPS was already conducting search and rescue services after people close to Nickerson reported her missing; upon discovery, her body was “helicoptered and transferred to the Coconino County Medical Examiner.”

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While the NPS did not detail the cause of either death, it said Nickerson was “reported missing following a flood that hit Havasu Canyon on August 22.” Both she and the North Carolina man were found dead in parts of the park that are particularly prone to the dry heat and flooding that is becoming more frequent with climate change.

On August 22, another visitor in his 80s did not survive after a flash flood caused his boat to capsize during a trip down Havasu Canyon.

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Flash floods, extreme heat: these are the main causes of the increase in deaths

“The Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report that CPR was being performed on an 80-year-old man who entered the river after his boat overturned at Fossil Rapid,” the NPS writes. “Despite the best efforts of the group and park rangers who flew in by helicopter, all resuscitation attempts were unsuccessful.”

In early August, there were a number of falling deaths, including one in which 20-year-old Abel Joseph Mejia fell over the Pipe Creek Overlook, which many visitors come to for photographic views of the canyon.

While each of the deaths is caused by unique circumstances (many were accidental trips, but in one case, a Missouri man attempted an illegal BASE jump from Yavapai Point), the common factor boils down to unpredictable terrain, at least partially exacerbated by climate. change—many tourists also don’t expect how much things might have changed from what they remember from a past visit to the park.

“The arid, sparsely vegetated environment here means that rain quickly generates runoff because the soil doesn’t absorb it well,” NPS spokeswoman Rebecca Roland told The Hill. “This runoff moves quickly through narrow canyons and steep terrain, turning dry creek beds into torrents of water within minutes, even from relatively small storms.”

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