Tourists mourn historic Grand Canyon lodge burned to the ground by wildfire

Independent

3 days ago

Visitors of a historic lodge on the Grand Canyon 's North Rim have expressed their heartbreak online, after the structure was destroyed by a fast-moving wildfire.
'This is a devastating loss for park employees, all of us who've had the pleasure of staying here, and everyone who will never get a chance to see it,' one user wrote, after the National Park announced the news Sunday.
The Grand Canyon Lodge, the only lodging inside the park at the North Rim, was consumed by the flames, according to park Superintendent Ed Keeble. He added that the visitor center, the gas station, a waste water treatment plant, an administrative building and some employee housing also were lost to the flames.
An Instagram post sharing the news garnered almost 5,000 likes by Sunday afternoon, with those that had stayed at the lodge sharing their experiences and grief at its destruction.
'Our family from NY met up with my dad who traveled there from KY [ Kentucky ],' one user wrote. 'We sat on the porch and waited for him. He walked up behind us and we literally cried- not because we hadn't seen each other in a long time, but because we were there in that beautiful place together... I'm going to call and tell him- and we will cry together.'
Another wrote: 'We brought our two boys here on an RV trip in 2023 (3 and 18 months). This visitor center is where our youngest picked out a Mountain Lion he named Roar. He still sleeps with him. We've sat in those chairs and held our boys while looking out at this view. Such a devastating loss.'
Others had extra special connections to the lodge. 'My Great-grandfather, Truman Welling, built the lodge. I was looking forward to finally taking my children to see it this fall,' wrote Michele Welling Kingsford, adding a crying emoji.
The destruction of the lodge comes as two wildfires continue to burn near the North Rim, known as the White Sage Fire and the Bravo Dragon fire.
The latter is the one that impacted the lodge and other structures. The park initially was managing it as a controlled burn but then shifted to suppression as it rapidly grew, fire officials said.
Millions of people visit the Grand Canyon National Park annually, with most going to the more popular South Rim. The North Rim is open seasonally. The area was evacuated last Thursday because of wildfire.
The burning of the waste water treatment plant resulted in the release of chlorine gas that prompted the evacuation of firefighters and hikers from the inner canyon, park officials said Sunday. Chlorine gas is heavier than air and can quickly settle into lower elevations such as the inner canyon, posing a health risk.