Grand Canyon Lodge destroyed in wildfire: What we know

A rapidly moving wildfire has engulfed the historical Grand Canyon Lodge successful Arizona successful the United States.

The occurrence forced officials to adjacent entree to the Grand Canyon’s North Rim connected Sunday, and residents and tourists were evacuated.

Here is what happened to the Grand Canyon Lodge and what is the latest:

What happened to the Grand Canyon Lodge?

Two wildfires, the White Sage Fire and the Dragon Bravo Fire, are presently burning astatine oregon adjacent the Grand Canyon’s North Rim.

The Dragon Bravo Fire is the 1 that burned the Grand Canyon Lodge and adjacent structures.

It was sparked by lightning connected July 4 and expanded to 200 hectares (500 acres) successful a small much than a week, according to the National Park Service (NPS).

Dragon Bravo was driven by sustained winds of 32 kilometres per hr (20 miles per hour) and gusts arsenic beardown arsenic 64km/h (40mph).

The White Sage Fire was besides started by lightning connected July 9. By July 13, it had dispersed to 40,186 acres (16,263 hectares), according to the US Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service.

The NPS said nary casualties person been reported and residents and tourists were safely evacuated.

Firefighters and exigency vehicles are deployed to combat the Dragon Bravo Fire successful an representation released connected July 13, 2025 [Handout/National Park Service via Reuters]

What is the lodge known for?

The Grand Canyon Lodge was a seasonal edifice connected the North Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park successful Coconino County successful bluish Arizona.

The lodge had stood connected a North Rim elevation since 1928 and was designed by designer Gilbert Stanley Underwood.

The archetypal lodge burned down successful a room occurrence successful 1932 and was rebuilt successful 1937, based connected the archetypal program and stonework.

However, it was scaled backmost and built without a 2nd storey.

The main lodge and its 120 cabins were unfastened seasonally. This year, the lodge opened connected May 15 and was to person stayed unfastened until October 15.

It has drawn radical for decades with its breathtaking views of 1 of the earthy wonders of the US.

What is the Grand Canyon?

The Grand Canyon was carved by the Colorado River and is astir 446km (277 miles) long, up to 29km (18 miles) wide and much than 1.6km (1 mile) heavy successful spots.

The canyon exposes layers of reddish sandstone and multicoloured bands of different rock, revealing astir 2 cardinal years of Earth’s geological history.

The Grand Canyon is 1 of the astir visited US nationalist parks with millions of visitors a twelvemonth and is simply a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The NPS said that according to preliminary assessments, 50 to 80 structures person been mislaid successful the wildfires, including NPS administrative buildings and visitant facilities.

The Grand Canyon is simply a heavy gorge carved by the Colorado River successful the US authorities of Arizona [File: AFP]

What rescue efforts are successful place?

The Grand Canyon National Park was evacuated connected Thursday due to the fact that of the wildfire and volition stay closed for the remainder of the season.

Five 100 unit person been assigned to combat the White Sage Fire, according to the Forest Service.

On July 9, an update published connected the Grand Canyon National Park’s Facebook leafage said authorities were utilizing a “confine/contain” strategy to negociate the Dragon Bravo Fire.

“This means the occurrence is being allowed to fulfil its earthy relation wrong a defined area, portion firefighters instrumentality enactment to bounds its dispersed wherever necessary,” the station said, adding that the occurrence did not airs threats to infrastructure oregon nationalist information astatine the time.

On Thursday, the parkland said the Dragon Bravo Fire was being managed with a “full suppression” strategy and by Friday, it posted different update connected Facebook saying: “The occurrence is being managed with an assertive afloat suppression strategy.”

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, thanked firefighters and archetypal responders moving to negociate the occurrence portion questioning the Republican-led national government’s response.

“They indispensable archetypal instrumentality assertive enactment to extremity the wildfire and forestall further damage,” Hobbs wrote successful a station connected X connected Sunday.

She said successful different post: “An incidental of this magnitude demands aggravated oversight and scrutiny into the national government’s exigency response.”

I americium incredibly saddened by the demolition of the historical Grand Canyon Lodge, and my bosom goes retired to each idiosyncratic impacted by the Dragon Bravo Fire adjacent the Grand Canyon’s North Rim.

Thank you to each firefighter and archetypal responder taking enactment to combat the flames.

— Governor Katie Hobbs (@GovernorHobbs) July 14, 2025

What’s the latest connected the ground?

The fires are inactive burning.

While firefighting efforts are ongoing, authorities said they person been hindered by hot, adust winds.

“Crews encountered precise utmost occurrence behaviour owed to the adust conditions [and] gusty and erratic winds inhibiting the quality for occurrence fighters to safely prosecute the fire,” the Bureau of Land Management said astir the White Sage Fire.

The Forest Service besides reported record-high vigor merchandise components (ERCs), which is simply a measurement of however adust and flammable vegetation is,. This operation of factors is creating a volatile environment.

The Dragon Bravo Fire is besides posing challenges to firefighters.

The NPS reported that aerial occurrence retardant was being deployed to dilatory the occurrence adjacent the lodge, but a chlorine state leak astatine the North Rim h2o attraction installation prompted the evacuation of firefighters from cardinal areas nearby, halting operations.

The state leak was a effect of the h2o attraction works being impacted by the fire.

Chlorine state tin irritate the eyes, chemoreceptor and throat. It tin besides origin lung injuries and, successful terrible cases, abrupt death, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The North Rim remains closed for firefighting operations.

The chlorine leak has besides prompted closures of Phantom Ranch, which sits astatine the bottommost of the Grand Canyon conscionable northbound of the Colorado River; the North Kaibab Trail, which begins connected the North Rim and descends to the river; and the South Kaibab Trail, which begins connected the South Rim and descends to the Colorado.

Smoke billows up implicit the Grand Canyon successful an representation released connected July 11, 2025 [Handout/National Park Service via Reuters]