Tourists, residents evacuated from Grand Canyon due to wildfires
"Due to the advancing Dragon Bravo Fire within Grand Canyon National Park, all North Rim residents are now in 'GO' status and should evacuate the North Rim immediately," the National Park Service said in an X post on Friday afternoon (Jul 11).
The Dragon Bravo Fire, which was sparked by lightning and has been burning since Jul 4, was 61ha in size Friday evening and zero per cent contained, a US government incident report said.
Park Service staff had already cleared the North Rim, which is less popular with tourists than the South Rim, of some 500 visitors late Thursday.
Day-use access to the area was also closed due to a larger blaze called the White Sage Fire, which was burning outside the Grand Canyon National Park.
However, it was approaching Jacob Lake, Arizona, a small settlement known as the gateway to the North Rim.
About 4,441ha have been scorched by the White Sage Fire, which is zero per cent contained, according to authorities, who released images of large columns of smoke rising above the scrubby desert.
Jon Paxton, press officer for the Coconino County sheriff's office, told AFP that a hotel and some businesses had been emptied.
"Most of the folks we evacuated were campers," he said. "This area is high desert and mostly open forest for camping."
STARTED BY LIGHTNING
The White Sage Fire was also started by lightning, during a thunderstorm on Jul 9.
"Crews encountered very extreme fire behaviour due to the dry conditions (and) gusty and erratic winds inhibiting the ability for fire fighters to safely engage the fire," the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) said.
One of the greatest wonders of the natural world, the Grand Canyon is the result of the Colorado River eating away at layers of red sandstone and other rock for millions of years, leaving a gash up to 30km wide and more than 1.6km deep.
Park Service advised against any hiking into the canyon, due to extreme heat and wildfire smoke. A 67-year-old man died on Tuesday while attempting to reach the river in hot conditions.
Last year, almost five million people visited the world-famous site.
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