Wildfire along Grand Canyon's North Rim destroys historic lodge
The remains of a building at the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park (National Park Service via AP)
From the air, plumes of black smoke could be seen rising above the canyon walls.
Firefighters at the North Rim and hikers in the inner canyon were evacuated during the weekend over concerns about the fire and potential exposure to chlorine gas after a treatment plant burned.
Rafters on the Colorado River, which snakes through the Grand Canyon, were told to bypass Phantom Ranch, an outpost of cabins and dormitories at the bottom of the canyon.
Arizona governor Katie Hobbs called for a federal investigation into the National Park Service's decision not to first aggressively attack the fire, which was sparked by lightning July 4.
Authorities first used a 'confine and contain' strategy by clearing fuel sources, but shifted to aggressive suppression a week later as the fire rapidly grew to 7.8 square miles because of hot temperatures, low humidity and strong wind gusts, fire officials said.
'Arizonans deserve answers for how this fire was allowed to decimate the Grand Canyon National Park,' the governor said in a social media post.
No injuries have been reported, but 50 to 80 structures have been lost, the park superintendent said.
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Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Wildfire guts historic Grand Canyon lodge; governor demands probe
July 14 (Reuters) - A wildfire has destroyed a historic lodge and dozens of other structures on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, raising questions over the National Park Service's decision not to aggressively fight the fire straight away. The limestone and timber Grand Canyon Lodge was gutted by flames, along with up to 80 other structures including cabins, park administrative buildings and visitor facilities. The North Rim of the park will remain closed for the rest of the 2025 season and inner canyon trails and campgrounds are closed until further notice, the National Park Service said. The South Rim of the park remains open to visitors. Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs demanded an independent investigation into the federal government's handling of the fire, which was sparked by lightning on July 4. The fire was initially managed with a "confine and contain" strategy, firefighters creating containment lines and preparing to carry out controlled burns to protect the lodge, first opened in 1928, and other buildings, according to the U.S. government InciWeb fire site. Firefighters switched to a "full suppression" strategy after strong northwest wind gusts caused the blaze to grow rapidly on July 11, the site said. In an X post on Sunday, Hobbs said the federal government chose to manage the fire as a "controlled burn during the driest, hottest part of the Arizona summer." "Arizonans deserve answers for how this fire was allowed to decimate the Grand Canyon National Park," Hobbs wrote. The Department of the Interior, which oversees the National Park Service, said federal firefighters made decisions based on real-time data, local conditions and fire science. "The allegation that this fire was managed as a controlled burn is not at all accurate and our wildland fire experts certainly know the difference," Interior Department spokesperson Elizabeth Peace said in a statement. The so-called Dragon Bravo blaze has grown to over 5,700 acres (2,306 hectares) and is 0% contained. It is dwarfed in size by the White Sage Fire around 35 miles (56 km) to the north that has scorched over 49,000 acres (19,829 hectares) and is also 0% contained.
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Arizona wildfire that burned Grand Canyon lodge closes North Rim for rest of 2025 season: Live updates
A wildfire sparked by lightning on July 4 has now spread at the Grand Canyon, consuming both the Natinonal Park Services' visitors' hub and the historic Grand Canyon Lodge on the park's Northern Rim. National Park Service officials in Arizona opted to observe the Dragon Bravo fire rather than extinguish it after it was discovered last week. They changed their approach on July 11 and 12 when high winds in the region allowed the fire to escape the 'containment features' that park officials hoped would keep the blaze at bay. 'The Dragon Bravo Fire on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park exhibited extreme and volatile fire behavior the evening of July 12, resulting in a 500-acre expansion,' the National Park Service said in a Monday update. 'Fire managers have confirmed the loss of the Grand Canyon Lodge and numerous historic cabins in the developed area.' As of Monday, the fire has grown to 3,471 acres. Approximately 50 to 80 structures at Grand Canyon National Park have been destroyed, and thousands of visitors and firefighters in the area have been ordered to evacuate. Along with the White Sage fire, which is also burning in the region, a total of 45,000 acres has been burned as of July 13. WATCH: Dragon Bravo Fire destroys historic North Rim lodge Graig Graziosi14 July 2025 19:32 North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park to remain closed for duration of 2025 season The National Parks Service announced today that the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will remain closed for the rest of its 2025 operating season. The Dragon Bravo fire burned the historic Grand Canyon Lodge as well as numerous park buildings and cabins. Graig Graziosi14 July 2025 19:05 Difficult terrain, remote campers make evacuation and fire containment difficult for Arizona fire fighters Dolores Garcia, a spokesperson for the Arizona Bureau of Land Management, told FOX 10 Phoenix that the rugged terrain near the Grand Canyon made it difficult for firefighters to get into place to fight the White Sage wildfire. "Especially in terrain that may be a little bit more rough and a little bit more difficult for firefighters to get into or may take a little bit more time for them to get into," she said. Garcia also revealed that state officials had to track down campers at remote campsites to ensure they received evacuation notices. "Early in the phases of the earliest evacuations, we were having to go to campsites and some of the dispersed camping areas to assist with the evacuation and make some of those notifications," she said. Graig Graziosi14 July 2025 19:00 Company operating Grand Canyon Lodge issued statement after wildfire consumes historic building The Grand Canyon Lodge was operated by a company called Aramark for the National Parks Service. The company issued a statement acknowledging the burning of the lodge. "We are devastated by the loss of the Grand Canyon Lodge and numerous other historic buildings at the Grand Canyon's North Rim," Debbie Albert, an Aramark spokesperson, said. "We are grateful that all of our employees and guests have been safely evacuated, and we join the National Park Service in mourning the loss of these iconic and beloved structures." Graig Graziosi14 July 2025 18:30 WATCH: Dragon Bravo Fire destroys historic North Rim lodge Graig Graziosi14 July 2025 18:00 'The stakes are life and death': The US is not prepared for wildfire season after sweeping DOGE cuts, report says As summer temperatures begin to rise and another dangerous wildfire season looms, a new report warns the U.S. is underprepared due to sweeping budget and staffing cuts under the Trump administration. Federal agencies are grappling with reduced workforces, diminished resources, and weakened emergency infrastructure just as extreme summer heat and drought are taking hold of many states out West. Experts and current firefighters say the situation is dire. 'If this turns out to be a major fire year, it's going to be a s*** show,' Dr. Hugh Safford, a fire ecologist and former U.S. Forest Service (USFS) official, told The Guardian. Safford spent more than two decades working for the service before retiring in 2021. The stakes are life and death: US not prepared for wildfires after DOGE cuts: report Forecasters predict above-average fire potential this year across California, Montana, Texas, and much of the Pacific Northwest Graig Graziosi14 July 2025 17:30 LOOK: National Parks Service shares a map showing the Dragon Bravo fire's expansion Graig Graziosi14 July 2025 17:00 Governor Katie Hobbs says she's "saddened" by the widfire destruction, calls for federal investigation Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs said she was 'saddened' by the Dragon Bravo wildfire's destruction of historic buildings — including the Grand Canyon Lodge — at Grand Canyon National Park. 'I am incredibly saddened by the destruction of the historic Grand Canyon Lodge, and my heart goes out to every person impacted by the Dragon Bravo Fire near the Grand Canyon's North Rim,' she wrote on X. 'Thank you to every firefighter and first responder taking action to combat the flames.' She then called into question the initial response by federal authorities after lightning ignited Dragon Bravo fire on July 4: 'An incident of this magnitude demands intense oversight and scrutiny into the federal government's emergency response. They must first take aggressive action to end the wildfire and prevent further damage. But Arizonans deserve answers for how this fire was allowed to decimate the Grand Canyon National Park.' 'While the flame was started with a lightning strike, the federal government chose to manage that fire as a controlled burn during the driest, hottest part of the Arizona summer. I am calling on the federal government for a comprehensive and independent investigation into the management of the Fire and a report detailing the decisions that led to this devastating outcome.' Graig Graziosi14 July 2025 16:30 Senator calls for an investigation into National Parks Service's early fire response Senator Ruben Gallego and Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs said they planned to investigate the National Parks Service's early response to the Drago Bravo fire to determine what impact, if any, it had on the blaze's eventually spread. 'Because of the Dragon Bravo Fire, Arizona lost more than a historic lodge, it lost a piece of our state history,' Gallego wrote on X. 'As Governor Hobbs has rightly called for, there must be a comprehensive, independent investigation into the handling of fire and the rationale for treating it as a controlled burn— especially as Arizona experiences the driest, hardest part of summer. I will do my part on the federal level to get answers.' Graig Graziosi14 July 2025 16:00 Closures announced at Grand Canyon National Park The Dragon Bravo and White Sage fires have prompted closures across the northern edge of Grand Canyon National Park. The closures include call of the inner corridor hiking trails, all campgrounds and all other interior areas including the North and South Kaibab Trails, the Phantom Ranch, and Bright Angel Trail below Havasupai Gardens, according to the NPS. Graig Graziosi14 July 2025 15:30
The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
Wildfire that destroyed Grand Canyon lodge spread after being left to burn for days
A wildfire raging along the Grand Canyon's North Rim that leveled a historic lodge erupted over the weekend after burning for more than a week, raising scrutiny over the National Park Service's decision not to aggressively attack the fire right away. Katie Hobbs, Arizona's governor, called for a federal investigation into the park service's handling of the fire, which was sparked by lightning on 4 July. 'Arizonans deserve answers for how this fire was allowed to decimate the Grand Canyon National Park,' the governor said in a social media post Sunday. 'The federal government chose to manage that fire as a controlled burn during the driest, hottest part of the Arizona summer.' Authorities first used a 'confine and contain' strategy by clearing fuel sources, but shifted to aggressive suppression as the fire rapidly grew to nearly 8 square miles (20.7 square kilometers) because of hot temperatures, low humidity and strong wind gusts, fire officials said. The fire destroyed the Grand Canyon Lodge, the only lodging inside the park's North Rim, along with cabins, employee housing and a waste water treatment plant, park superintendent Ed Keable said Sunday. Park officials have closed access for the rest of the year to the North Rim, a less popular and more isolated area of the park that draws only about 10% of the Grand Canyon's millions of annual visitors. Hikers in the area were evacuated and rafters on the Colorado River, which snakes through the canyon, were told to bypass Phantom Ranch, an outpost of cabins and dormitories. No injuries have been reported, but 50 to 80 structures have been lost, the park superintendent said. From the air, plumes of black smoke could be seen rising above the canyon walls. The fire flared up Saturday night, fueled by high winds. Firefighters managed to make progress, using aerial fire retardant drops near the lodge before they had to pull back because of a chlorine gas leak at the water treatment plant, the park service said. Across the west, about three dozen fires are burning uncontained and another 80 fires are being managed to clear out vegetation that has clogged the landscape, according to the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. So far this year, nearly 2.5 million acres have burned. That's slightly below the 10-year average, according to the center. Near the Grand Canyon's North Rim, there were two wildfires burning – the Dragon Bravo fire that destroyed the lodge and other buildings and the White Sage fire, which by Sunday afternoon had charred 63 square miles (162 square kilometers) of terrain. Officials reported progress in battling the White Sage Fire. Nearly 5 million people visited the Grand Canyon last year, with most sticking to the South Rim. Roads in the North Rim are closed to vehicles in the winter and the lodge opens in May through mid-October. The Grand Canyon Lodge, known for its huge ponderosa beams, massive limestone facade and a bronze statue of a donkey named 'Brighty the Burro,' was perched on the edge of the North Rim and offered sweeping views of the canyon. Caren Carney was staying at the lodge last week with her husband, parents and 12-year-old son when a park ranger knocked on their door Thursday and told them to evacuate. She was heartbroken Sunday to hear that such a 'magical place' had burned down. After evacuating, the family from Georgia went to the South Rim and could see the blaze from across the canyon. 'I'm so glad we got to have one final look at it in the present before it was lost,' Carney said. Aramark, the company that operated the lodge, said all employees and guests were safely evacuated. An original lodge burned down from a kitchen fire in 1932, four years after construction was completed, according to the Grand Canyon Historical Society. The redesigned lodge using the original stonework opened in 1937. Elsewhere, a wildfire burning in south-western Colorado closed Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and forced the evacuation of homes near the park. The fire was started by lightning Thursday on the south rim of the park, a dramatic, deep gorge carved by the Gunnison River. Jared Polis, Colorado's governor, issued a disaster declaration Sunday because of it and other fires burning in western Colorado.
