Grand Canyon flooding deals another blow to family-owned landmark

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Flash floods in the Grand Canyon left two dead and one missing.
• Jacob Lake Inn, a family-owned business, faces economic challenges from the flooding.
• The inn lost 70 reservations before Labor Day, impacting its usual 100% capacity.

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK — Deadly flash flooding in the Grand Canyon has left two people dead and one hiker still missing, while also delivering a devastating economic blow to a Utah family-owned business on the North Rim.

For the family that operates the historic Jacob Lake Inn, the flooding is the latest in a string of disasters that have threatened their livelihood.

Just one year ago, the inn was forced to evacuate because of massive wildfires burning near the Grand Canyon. Now, after historic flooding swept through the area, the owners said they are once again facing an uncertain future.

"It's heartbreaking," said Melinda Rich Marshall, whose family has owned and operated Jacob Lake Inn for generations. "We are afraid. We do not know what is going to happen here in the next few weeks."

The inn, located near the North Rim entrance to Grand Canyon National Park, has been a fixture in the area for 103 years. But despite remaining open, the recent flooding has sparked concerns among travelers and led to a wave of cancellations.

Marshall said the business has lost about 70 reservations since Sunday night alone, just days before what is normally one of the busiest holiday weekends of the year.

"We would normally be at 100% capacity (during Labor Day)," she said. "In fact, we would have people coming through looking for reservations and places to stay. This year, we are at less than 50%."

The impact extends beyond one business.

Davy Crockett, from Saratoga Springs and vice president of the Grand Canyon Historical Society, called the flooding "devastating" and said major flood events of this magnitude are rare. He noted that the last comparable flood occurred in 1966, though no fatalities were reported during that event.

Crockett believes last year's wildfire may have contributed to the severity of the flooding.

"The theory is that debris from the fire may have caused a natural dam to form, and then all the water came out at once," he said.

As recovery efforts continue, Marshall said the family is reaching out to federal lawmakers in hopes of securing financial assistance to offset mounting losses.

Despite the challenges, she wants visitors to know that the North Rim remains open.

"If people are looking for something great to do over Labor Day weekend, come visit us at the North Rim," Marshall said. "We are open, and we'd love to be able to have people come and stay with us."

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.

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Dan Rascon

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Emmy award-winning and veteran TV journalist Dan Rascon is the weekend anchor for KSL-TV in Salt Lake City.