Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
ZION NATIONAL PARK — All of Zion National Park was under a flash flood warning Thursday night, officials said.
All slot canyons in the park, including The Narrows, will remain closed until at least 11:15 p.m., Zion National Park officials said on Twitter.
As of 4:15 p.m., several hiking trails in the park were closed, including Angel’s Landing, the Riverside Walk, the West Rim trail from the Grotto, Kayenta and Upper Emerald Pools trails, park officials said.
The Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway also is closed from Canyon Junction to the east entrance of the park, Washington County Emergency Services Coordinator Peter Kuhlmann said in an emailed statement. Officials anticipate opening the road on Friday afternoon, depending on weather conditions.
As of Thursday evening, Zion Canyon shuttles were running but were turning around at Big Bend and were not stopping at the Grotto, officials said.
Kuhlmann said park officials expect the shuttles will resume their normal routes by mid-morning Friday. However, they will still skip the Grotto stop because the trails leaving from that area, including Angel's Landing, will remain closed indefinitely.
Most of the debris had been cleared from the Riverside Walk and Narrows trails by Thursday evening, Kuhlmann said. Park officials expect those trails to be open by mid-morning Friday.
All the other closed trails had extensive damage and were closed indefinitely, Kuhlmann said. The West Rim trail was open to Cabin Spring, but was closed beyond that area due to a small wildfire that ignited there, he said.
A storm system began dumping heavy rain on the area about 5:10 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. The north fork of the Virgin River, North Creek and Dry Creek are expected to experience flash flooding, as well as several other waterways in the park, the weather service said.
Three small wildfires also started in the park due to lightning from the recent storms, according to Kuhlmann. Officials are hoping to contain the fires with the help of rainfall and favorable weather conditions in the park, he said.
Server maintenance was preventing park officials from posting current updates on the Zion National Park website, officials said. They were posting periodic updates to the park’s official Twitter account.
On Wednesday, flooding forced several road closures at the park.
As of 1:30 p.m. Thursday, the Zion Canyon scenic drive was open up to the Big Bend area, park officials said.
