Frijoles Canyon in Bandelier National Monument was hit hard by flash flooding Thursday afternoon around 4:45 p.m. caused by severe weather in the area. Water from the Frijoles Creek did not leave its banks until midway between the two pedestrian bridges by the main parking lot. Photo by Prashant Jain

Mud and debris travel quickly through Frijoles Canyon. Water was flowing over the bridge at the low end and the motor bridge to Cottonwood. Photo by Prashant Jain

Photo by Prashant Jain

Thursday’s flash flood rushes through Frijoles Canyon late Thursday afternoon. Photo by Prashant Jain

A flash flood dragged vegetation with it through Frijoles Canyon Thursday. Hail lingered on the ground as temperatures dropped. Photo by Prashant Jain

In June 2011, 12 1/2 miles of Frijoles Canyon burned in the Las Conchas Fire making it vulnerable to flash flooding. In August 2011, a flash flood came through the canyon, taking away much of the protection along Frijoles Creek. There was 3,000 cubic feet of water per second during the peak flow, which only lasted 10 minutes but brought a tons of debris with it causing major damage.

Another massive flash flood occurred on September 13, 2013 during a multi-day rain event Bandelier broke a monthly precipitation record, receiving over 7 inches of rain at low elevations and more than 9 inches at some places in the mountains. On this particular morning, the biggest flash flood occurred between 8 and 9 a.m. after more than 1.5 inches of rain fell in the 2 hours prior in upstream locations. All together, Bandelier received more than 3 inches of rain that day.

Thursday’s flash flooding was captured by Prashant Jain

More film captured by Prashant Jain.