Havasupai Falls closed indefinitely; clean-up work begins after destructive flood
HAVASUPAI INDIAN RESERVATION, AZ (AZFamily) — The search for the woman who went missing after she was swept away in a flash flood near Havasupai Falls is over, and now recovery work begins after destructive weather hit the area.
Search crews found the body of 33-year-old Chenoa Nickerson, of Gilbert, over the weekend after several days of searching.
Flooding in the area caused over 100 people to be taken by helicopter to safety and damaged parts of the Havasuapai tribe’s community.
Havasupai’s crystal clear water typically looks crystal clear, but it turned into raging brown water during a flash flood late last week, leaving hikers stranded.
“The immediate reaction was making sure we got everyone to high ground and to safe locations that included the hundreds of tourists that were in the Canyon at the time,” Tribal spokesperson Abbie Fink said.
Some of those who were airlifted included a handful of tribe members who went home to flood damage.
“The remaining are in their homes or staying with others if their home was damaged,” Fink said. “We did hear reports of some of the tribal member’s homes suffering, water damage and other things. Some of the public buildings in Havasupai as well.”
Despite their hardships, tribe members took in stranded hikers.
“The tribe took on the responsibility of taking care of those tourists that were there during this time,” Fink said. “So they shared their food and the water and other, you know, blankets and other things.’
Getting supplies to the tribe is a challenge: you must have them dropped off by helicopter or walk miles into town. However, now that the trails are impassible, it complicates their recovery efforts.
The Arizona Army National Guard was called in over the weekend to help search for Nickerson, who also provided assistance to the tribe.
“So fortunately there was plans for supplies to be shipped in before the flood occurred, and the National Guard was able to bring in the majority of that over the weekend,” Fink said.
Havasupai will be closed to hikers and tourists indefinitely during this clean-up process to allow the state, federal government, and the tribe to inspect the damage and begin repairs.
“So there’s no estimated time yet when it will reopen, but we’re hopeful that we’ll be able to do that in short order,” Fink said.
The Havasupai Tribe is asking for donations to be delivered to the Grand Cayon Caverns Inn front desk, if possible, or at two Flagstaff locations. They are:
- Grand Canyon Trust on Tuesday, Aug. 27, by 4 p.m.
- Ceiba Adventures on Tuesday, Aug. 27 and Wednesday, Aug. 28, from 8:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.
They need:
- Cleaning Supplies (Mops, cleaning sprays, mop buckets, etc.)
- Cases of drinking water
- Non-perishable food
- Dog and cat food
- Horse feed
- Work gloves, hard hats, safety glasses, reflective vests
- Trail work tools: shovels, 5-gallon buckets, pick-axes, pulaskis, wheelbarrows, chain saws, and gasoline.
The tribe says it’s currently not accepting cash or money donations.
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