Wildfire raging near Grand Canyon grows into a 'megafire'
The largest wildfire in the continental United States in 2025 has achieved "megafire" status, officials said August 1.
Arizona's Dragon Bravo Fire, ignited by lightning around July 4, has now surpassed 100,000 acres in size, meaning it's considered a megafire.
The blaze, which has destroyed some of the developed area on the Grand Canyon's North Rim, has grown to more than 105,000 acres as containment dropped to 9% July 31 amid red flag warnings driven by high heat and strong winds.
What is a megafire?
The National Interagency Fire Center defines a megafire by its size: It is a wildfire that burns more than 40,500 hectares (100,000 acres) of land, National Geographic reported.
The Dragon Bravo Fire is the first megafire of the year: According to Weather.com, the second-largest fire was the Cram Fire, which burned more than 95,000 acres in Oregon.
The Dragon Bravo fire has already burned roughly 100 structures and become the largest fire, by far, to hit the Grand Canyon National Park since 1984. On July 13, the wildfire razed the historic 1937 Grand Canyon Lodge.
According to the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, it also now stands as the 10th largest wildfire in Arizona since 1990, scorching an area more than three times the size of Phoenix.
Extreme heat warnings in effect near fire
As the weekend approaches, extreme heat warnings remain in effect across the region, with temperatures soaring well above normal — reaching between 110 and 114 degrees across Arizona, according to the National Weather Service.
A slight chance of storms is expected east of Phoenix late Friday, Aug. 1, but these storms are not forecast to move toward the wildfire areas and will provide no relief to the Dragon Bravo Fire.
No rain is expected for the Grand Canyon region through at least midweek. While chances for precipitation may briefly rise to around 25% midweek, they are forecast to drop back to zero by the end of the week, meaning dry conditions will likely persist.
There is currently no confirmed structural damage outside the Grand Canyon tied to the Dragon Bravo Fire. No fatalities have occurred.
Wildfire map: Where is the Dragon Bravo fire burning?
According to the latest report on InciWeb, a federal wildfire tracking site, the Dragon Bravo Fire, currently burning across the Kaibab Plateau, is moving northeast toward the Grand Canyon National Park boundary, where the terrain and vegetation begin to change.
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