Rescuers are still looking for missing people in the Grand Canyon after deadly flash flooding on Saturday. Dozens more were evacuated as heavy rains moved into the area, and an emergency alert system may have helped get them to safety in time.
Since 2024, authorities have used a text system to reach people in the canyon, alerting rafters and hikers via satellite phone when there are dangerous conditions like flooding.
Tim Carter, director of Coconino County Emergency Management, said it’s too early to tell exactly how many people this weekend evacuated as a direct result of the alert system. But, he confirmed, people have used the system to reach safety during past floods.
“We know it works,” Carter said. “It's proven itself to work. We're hoping that there were folks that did get the message now, and were able to leverage that warning information to get to higher ground, and were some of the ones that were evacuated out earlier.”
Earlier this year, emergency officials warned of new risks and dangers in some hiking areas, after the 2025 Dragon Bravo Fire increased the risk of dangerous flooding downstream of the burn scar.
After the Dragon Bravo Fire burned the Grand Canyon's North Rim, there's an increased risk of dangerous flooding and mudslides.
The text system is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Geological Survey Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center, Coconino County Emergency Management, the National Weather Service and the National Park Service.
Carter said it can be hard to reach people in the Grand Canyon due to its remoteness. That, he said, can be a blessing and a curse. Many people go into the canyon to get away from technology, making them harder to reach in the event of an emergency.
Sending texts via satellite phones, though, is a “quick and to the point” way to get emergency information to recreators out of cell range, Carter said.
In the time since the alert system was launched, the agencies that run it have worked to make it more efficient in situations where a matter of seconds can affect people’s ability to reach safety.
“We're constantly doing internal exercises and drills with the system,” Carter said. “Can we save 30 or 60 seconds in the amount of time it takes for us to write the message and get it out? Is that going to make the difference?”
The alert system is designed to reach anyone in the Grand Canyon backcountry. Messages also go to on-grid support staff for rafting trips, who are able to contact boaters below.
1 of 14
— grand-canyon-flood-damage-3-nps-20260902.jpg
The Bright Angel Campground sign remains standing after the Grand Canyon flash flood on Aug. 29, 2026. Multiple footbridges were washed away.
National Park Service / Handout
2 of 14
— grand-canyon-flood-damage-4-nps-20260902.jpg
Flooded areas in Phantom Ranch during the Grand Canyon flash flood on Aug. 29, 2026.
National Park Service / Handout
3 of 14
— grand-canyon-flood-damage-2-nps-20260902.jpg
The debris at 4:14 p.m. on Aug. 29, 2026, near a footbridge that was destroyed after a flash flood earlier than afternoon in the Grand Canyon.
National Park Service / Handout
4 of 14
— grand-canyon-flood-damage-5-nps-20260902.jpg
The Colorado River and Phantom Ranch wastewater treatment plant from the Silver Bridge during the Grand Canyon flash flood on Aug. 29, 2026.
National Park Service / Handout
5 of 14
— grand-canyon-flood-search-dps-20260902.jpg
Border Patrol Search, Trauma and Rescue Unit (BORSTAR) and Arizona Department of Public Safety personnel assistwith K9 search operations after a flash flood in the Grand Canyon on Aug. 29, 2026.
Arizona Department of Public Safety / Handout
6 of 14
— grand-canyon-flood-damage-nps-20260902.jpg
Fallen trees after the Bright Angel Canyon flash flood in the Grand Canyon on Aug. 29, 2026.
K.Hensel / National Park Service
7 of 14
— grand-canyon-flash-flood-nps-20260901.jpg
Photo taken August 30, 2026, during an aerial reconnaissance flight over Bright Angel Canyon, showing a section of the North Kaibab Trail that was completely washed out by the August 29 flash flood.
K. Brown/National Park Service / Handout
8 of 14
— grand-canyon-flooding-1-20260831.jpg
A significant flash flood occurred in Bright Angel Canyon and the Phantom Ranch area on Aug. 29, 2026.
National Park Service / Handout
9 of 14
— grand-canyon-flooding-2-20260831.jpg
A significant flash flood occurred in Bright Angel Canyon and the Phantom Ranch area on Aug. 29, 2026.
National Park Service / Handout
10 of 14
— grand-canyon-flooding-5-20260831.jpg
A significant flash flood occurred in Bright Angel Canyon and the Phantom Ranch area in the Grand Canyon in Arizona on Aug. 29, 2026.
National Park Service / Handout
11 of 14
— grand-canyon-flooding-4-20260831.jpg
A significant flash flood occurred in Bright Angel Canyon and the Phantom Ranch area in the Grand Canyon in Arizona on Aug. 29, 2026.
National Park Service / Handout
12 of 14
— grand-canyon-flooding-3-20260831.jpg
A significant flash flood occurred in Bright Angel Canyon and the Phantom Ranch area in the Grand Canyon in Arizona on Aug. 29, 2026.
National Park Service / Handout
13 of 14
— Phantom-Ranch-area-8-29-26.jpg
Flash flooding in the Grand Canyon National Park on Aug. 29 caused significant damage to the Phantom Ranch area
National Parks Service / Handout
14 of 14
— grand-canyon-flash-flood-august-2026.jpg
A storm system moves across the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park on August 29, 2026. The storm produced heavy rainfall that contributed to significant flash flooding in Bright Angel Canyon and the Phantom Ranch area.
J. Baird/National Park Service / Handout
