U.S. Rep. David Schweikert was rafting the Colorado River with friends when a distant roar began echoing through the Grand Canyon. Then his group rounded a bend near Bright Angel Creek.
“It sounded like a handful of locomotives coming through and smashing boulders,” Schweikert said.
Schweikert was nearing the end of a multi-day rafting trip Aug. 29 when flash flooding tore through the Bright Angel area
and sent water and debris toward the Colorado River.“I was sort of a last-minute arriver,” Schweikert said of the trip. “They had a slot and I said, 'Well, what the hell?'”
The flooding struck Bright Angel Canyon and the Phantom Ranch area, damaging trails and leaving over a dozen people missing as of Aug. 30. The body of a 46-year-old man was recovered
near Crystal Rapids along the Colorado River, the Grand Canyon National Park said in a 6:30 p.m. social media post.
The National Park Service closed Phantom Ranch, Bright Angel Campground and the North Kaibab Trail as crews assessed the damage and looked for those missing.
Congressman recounts journey
Schweikert said he watched what appeared to be part of a metal building, bridge or construction structure float into the river as boulders crashed together in the floodwater, scenes that were also corroborated by other interviews done by The Arizona Republic.
Schweikert also provided The Republic with photos and video from the canyon showing muddy water rushing through the area.
Schweikert said he joined a group of friends after a spot opened and paid his own expenses on the recreational trip.
The trip was Schweikert’s first time rafting the Grand Canyon, despite decades spent hiking and camping there. He said he has spent more than 40 nights in the canyon and has taken part in similar trips since the early 1990s.
The rafting crew quickly recognized something was wrong and stopped the group east of where the floodwater was entering the Colorado River, Schweikert said.
He credited the guides with keeping the group away from the worst of the flooding.
Hiking out of the canyon
Schweikert said helicopters flew in and out of the canyon through the night on Aug. 29, taking evacuees to safety.
He later hiked out on the Bright Angel Trail, where he encountered some washed-out areas and saw water flowing in places that are normally dry.
Once out of the canyon, Schweikert said one of his first moves was to begin asking about damage to the park’s water system.
“From a more official capacity, I’m trying to understand how much damage was done to the water system,” Schweikert said.
He said one of his first text messages after leaving the canyon sought information about the damage.
Schweikert remains in Congress through January 2027. He chose not to seek another House term while running for Arizona governor, a race he did not win.
By the time Schweikert spoke with The Republic on Aug. 30, he was driving south from the Grand Canyon toward his home in the Valley.
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Rey Covarrubias Jr. is a reporter for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. Email him at: rcovarrubias@azcentral.com, and connect with him on Instagram, Threads, Bluesky and X (formerly Twitter) at @ReyCJrAZ.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Rep. David Schweikert recounts witnessing Grand Canyon flood
