Floodwaters close Death Valley park

DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, Calif. – A fierce storm triggered flooding in the Mojave Desert that killed at least two people and forced the closure of Death Valley National Park. Campers and visitors were evacuated from the park Monday.

The intense thunderstorm struck Sunday night, closing roads, stranding drivers and knocking out power and water.

A day later, the bodies of two people were still in a vehicle stuck in mud, rock and debris, officials said. “We haven’t been able to remove them yet,” park spokeswoman Roxanne Dey said.

California Highway Patrol and National Park Service helicopters spotted at least eight other vehicles off highways and dirt roads.

Officials said they could not tell immediately if they were occupied.

“We’re trying to account for all the visitors who were here,” Death Valley park Superintendent J.T. Reynolds told The Associated Press on Monday, using one of two telephone lines still operating from the park office.

Visitors at the 200-room Furnace Creek Ranch and 20 people staying at a nearby campground were escorted by state police out of the park, Reynolds said.

He said rangers aren’t sure if backcountry campers or hikers might have been caught in the flooding.

Reynolds said water and sewer lines were severed, and the park will be closed at least two days and possibly through the weekend.

The last time the park was closed that long was in 1985, he said.