Highway and inn reopen as fire near Grand Canyon further controlled
But an even older fire closer to the canyon's edge, which already destroyed historic structures in the developed North Rim area of Grand Canyon National Park, was threatening another tourist spot.
Together, the pair of lightning-caused fires has scorched over 94,000 acres.
The White Sage Fire, which started July 9, has spread across 58,985 acres of the northern Kaibab National Forest and was 81% contained, according to the Great Basin Complex Incident Management Team 6.
The east-west highway of U.S. Route 89A from Bitter Springs to Fredonia had reopened to the public, but officials warned that smoke would still be visible from the freeway. Nearby State Route 67, which runs north-south from Jacob Lake to the developed area of the North Rim, remained closed, according to the Great Basin team.
On all but the difficult-to-access east side of the fire, crews have already planted seeds to restore the environment and repaired fences, according to the Great Basin team.
The Great Basin team planned to hand the fire over to the smaller Color Country Team 2, further signifying the fire was on a path toward total containment. Crews projected July 30 as the earliest possible date for the fire's total containment, according to InciWeb, a federal wildfire tracking system.
The nearby Jacob Lake Inn, which had temporarily closed due to the fire, reopened as of July 24, according to a Facebook post.
About 30 miles to the south, the Dragon Bravo Fire, which started July 4 and destroyed much of the North Rim tourist hub inside Grand Canyon National Park, had grown to 35,456 acres and was 26% contained, according to the Southwest Area Complex Incident Management Team 4.
Crews saw gusty winds increase fire activity on July 25, which spread the fire to the north and intensified the existing blaze on the west side, according to the Southwest team.
The team said "record dry conditions" meant firefighters would need to reinforce perimeter lines and prepare for potential structure protection near the Kaibab Lodge, a complex of tourist cabins about 5 miles north of the entrance to Grand Canyon National Park off SR 67. Aircraft were ready for an increase in fire activity, especially on the canyon edges, where the fire could spread into grass and sagebrush at lower elevations, according to the management team.
The Kaibab Lodge took to Facebook around 4 p.m. to share a photo of dense smoke not far from the property.
"The Dragon Bravo Fire is rapidly approaching Kaibab Lodge," the post said. "Please keep the firefighters, lodge staff, and the surrounding community in your thoughts."
Over 1,300 firefighters remained on the scene of the two fires, officials said.
Rey Covarrubias Jr. reports breaking news for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. Email him at: rcovarrubias@gannett.com, and connect with him on Instagram, Threads, Bluesky and X (formerly Twitter) at @ReyCJrAZ.
(This article was updated to add new information.)
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Highway and inn reopen as fire near Grand Canyon controlled
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