* NPS Rangers and Forever Resorts concession employees (from Black Canyon/Willow Beach River Adventures), successfully rescued 36 people who were stranded in Black Canyon. The visitors had been on canoe and kayaking trips. The visitors were taken by river raft back to Willow Beach. Rangers are currently ferrying (with four-wheel-drive trucks) those rescued visitors, and other visitors stranded at Willow Beach, up the washed out access road to Highway 93. Forever Resorts has provided shuttle buses to take the visitors back to their office in Boulder City, Nevada. At this time, NPS Rangers believe that everyone who was in that area is accounted for. Our 9:30 a.m. report listed 39 people were stranded in the canyon and that number has been amended.
* NPS maintenance crews worked on the Willow Beach access road for several hours today and will continue this work tomorrow (weather permitting). The access road remains closed to visitors. Updates will be sent on the condition of the road tomorrow, Sunday, October 15. Willow Beach is 13 miles south of Hoover Dam and is accessed on Highway 93. It is on the Arizona side of Lake Mohave and is a very popular recreation spot for Southern Nevadans and Arizonans. The area’s water and waste water systems remain intact. The phones and electricity are working intermittently.
* All river trips in Black Canyon have been cancelled for at least two days.
* The St. Thomas access road is closed at this time. The St. Thomas Road is just north of the Overton Beach Marina and east of Valley of Fire State Park.
At this time, there are no reported injuries, fatalities, or reports of missing persons.
Additional updates will be sent via email as soon as new information becomes available.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
