Hundreds rescued after dam collapse

Floods hit near Grand Canyon

PHOENIX - An earthen dam broke near the Grand Canyon early yesterday after heavy rains that forced officials to pluck hundreds of residents and campers from the gorge by helicopter. No injuries were immediately reported.

The failure of the Redlands Dam caused some flooding in the village of Supai, where about 400 members of the Havasupai tribe live, said Maureen Oltrogge, a spokeswoman for the Grand Canyon National Park.

No structures were damaged after the dam failed about 45 miles upstream from Supai, but some hiking trails and footbridges were washed out, she said. Trees were uprooted, the National Weather Service said.

As much as 8 inches of rain since Friday caused trouble even before the dam burst. A private boating party of 16 people was stranded on a ledge at the confluence of Havasu Creek and the Colorado River on Saturday night after flood waters carried their rafts away, Oltrogge said.

The boaters were found uninjured and were being removed from the canyon, the floor of which is unreachable in many places except by helicopter.

Rescuers were trying to find visitors staying at the Supai Campground and escort them to safety, Oltrogge said.

Evacuees were being flown to a parking area 8 miles from Supai and bused to a Red Cross shelter in Peach Springs, about 60 miles southwest of Supai, the spokeswoman said.

A flash flood warning was in effect for the region through the early evening yesterday. The area recorded 3 to 6 inches of ran Friday and Saturday and got about 2 more yesterday, said Daryl Onton, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Flagstaff.

Supai is on Havasu and Cataract creeks about 30 miles northwest of Grand Canyon Village, a popular tourist area on the south rim. Havasu Creek feeds the Colorado, which runs the length of the canyon. The Grand Canyon has been the traditional home of the Havasupai for centuries.

In 2001, flooding near Supai swept a 2-year-old boy and his parents to their deaths.