Flash Floods Trap 70 Runners in Utah Desert for 12 Hours

About seventy runners and volunteers found themselves trapped in the Utah desert for twelve hours after Tropical Storm Rachel turned the Moab 240 into a nightmare. The organizers called off the race mid-stream because conditions had become too dangerous to continue.

Participants laced up their shoes on October 9, expecting four days of grueling trekking through slick rock, deep canyons, and two mountain ranges over a course stretching nearly 242 miles. Instead, they faced flash flooding that blocked the path near Bridger Jack Aid Station at mile marker 96 by Saturday night. Water surged so fast it became impossible to cross, forcing athletes who tried to wade through the rapids to turn back immediately.

Those stranded retreated to the aid station for shelter, heat, food, and water overnight. The situation did not get better by Sunday morning when hazards appeared along other parts of the trail too. Destination Trail announced the cancellation at that point.

Brian Hamilton, one of the athletes caught in the storm, posted a photo on social media showing him and others huddled under foil blankets inside a shelter as the weather worsened. He told Fox 13 Now that this would be his fifth attempt at the Moab 240 but hoped to finish it last weekend instead of stopping early due to the rain.

'I've never been hit in the head so hard by rain before,' Hamilton said regarding his experience with heavy downpour while wearing a high-end jacket and hat. 'I had a very high-end rain jacket on with my hat on, put the hood [on], and it was hurting me.' On Facebook he added that they spent the night in windy rain hoping tents would not blow away before huddling inside emergency tinfoil bivvy bags. He admitted relief that he always carries one of those kits.

Troy Eid, another participant present during the ordeal, described the location as mostly open and high enough to be cold while buffeted by relentless rain. 'We were in a marginally forested area,' Eid told Fox 13 Now. 'It was mostly open, and it was high, so it was cold. We were being buffeted by the rain.'

On Sunday, organizers worked with the San Juan County Sheriff's Office to evacuate everyone safely. Even after surviving one hellish night of wind and water, the group still had to hike four or five miles before sheriff deputies brought in ATVs to transport them out. Once on a school bus, they were driven back to Moab. By 9:30pm Sunday, every runner was accounted for.

'This is not how anyone wanted the Moab 240 to end,' Destination Trail stated in an official release. 'Runners put months of training into getting here, and crews, pacers and volunteers invested an enormous amount of time and effort into supporting them. Destination Trail is deeply disappointed for everyone involved.'

The storm did not spare other regions either. In California, Tropical Storm Rachel caused massive destruction with waves crashing onto waterfront properties where expensive homes collapsed into the monstrous swells. The National Weather Service issued a coastal flood warning for Los Angeles County beaches on Friday afternoon until 3pm Sunday as forecasters predicted waves between four and seven feet tall. Meanwhile in Utah, the Baker Dam and Santa Clara River overflowed due to intense flash flooding across the state.

Organizers reached out to Fox 13 Now for more details while The Daily Mail attempted contact with Destination Trail for comment though no further updates have arrived yet. It remains unclear exactly how many people started the race given the sudden disruption caused by such severe weather patterns shifting quickly from California devastation into Utah danger zones without much warning.