Arizona Wildfire Continues To Spread, Destroys Historic Grand Canyon Lodge

A wildfire in Grand Canyon National Park that began on July 4th has spread to around 5,000 acres in the North Rim area and claimed the Grand Canyon Lodge, a century-old historic structure.

According to a National Interagency Fire Center website, the Dragon Bravo fire started after lightning struck within the park. Shortly thereafter, another, more aggressive fire began about 35 miles to the north. No injuries have been reported.

Wildfire teams initially approached the Dragon Bravo fire using a “confine and contain strategy,” hoping to use natural barriers to stop the fire’s spread. After abnormal winds on July 11th, the fire spread past the anticipated zone, causing the firefighters to pivot to a suppression tactic.

The Dragon Bravo fire has consumed between 50 and 80 park buildings in the area, including the historic Grand Canyon Lodge, which was originally built in 1928 and rebuilt in 1937 following a fire, the Associated Press reported.

Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) commented on X, “Because of the Dragon Bravo Fire, Arizona lost more than a historic lodge, it lost a piece of our state history.”

Tim Allen, a resident of Flagstaff, Arizona, and frequent visitor of the Grand Canyon, said to the Associated Press that “It just feels like you’re a pioneer when you walk through [the lodge]. … It really felt like you were in a time gone by.”

Although firefighters are attempting to suppress the fire using aerial bucket drops, they were unable to employ aerial retardant — a more effective means of fire control — over the weekend because the fire had damaged a water treatment facility Saturday, releasing chlorine gas and forcing firefighters to evacuate the area.

Citing the abrupt change in strategies, as well as the loss of so many buildings, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs (D) called out the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service’s response to the fire.

“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,” Hobbs posted on X. “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.”

Gallego agreed, saying, “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.”

As of now, “Multiple ground crews and air resources continue to aggressively engage the fire, including daytime retardant drops where there is a high probability of success,” according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

Although more devastating, the Dragon Bravo fire is minute compared to the White Sage fire that began July 9th and has since spread across 40,000 acres. While 70 firefighters are employed in suppressing the Dragon Bravo fire, over 400 are addressing the White Sage fire, according to a report by the Bureau of Land Management.

Both fires are completely uncontained, but officials hope that trail and road closures, as well as more concentrated efforts, will keep the public safe and stop the spread of the fires.