Grand Canyon lodge destroyed as wildfires threaten northern Arizona
The big picture: Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs on Sunday demanded an investigation in regards to the Dragon Bravo Fire that razed the historic lodge in the Grand Canyon National Park, noting on X that "the federal government chose to manage" that blaze that started with a lightning strike "as a controlled burn during the driest, hottest part of the Arizona summer."
Parts of the Grand Canyon National Park were closed until further notice due to the Dragon Bravo Fire, according to a National Park Service post.
By the numbers: The fire that ignited in the area of the North Rim in Grand Canyon National Park on July 4 was burning out of control over some 5,000 acres as of Sunday night, per Inciweb, an interagency website that tracks wildfires.
The nearby White Sage Fire that began after a July 9 thunderstorm had grown to nearly 40,200 acres at 0% containment, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
Threat level: Among the structures destroyed or damaged in the Dragon Bravo Fire were a water treatment facility, "numerous historic cabins" and the only lodge at the North Rim, which had been in operation since 1937, per National Park Service posts.
It was later confirmed that chlorine gas was released from the water treatment facility that caught fire and "park authorities immediately evacuated firefighters from the North Rim and hikers from the inner canyon, and closed access to specific areas within the inner canyon," the NPS said.
Fire activity "intensified rapidly" late Saturday, "fueled by sustained winds of 20 mph," with gusts reaching up to 40 mph, per a Grand Canyon National Park Facebook post.
"Firefighters made significant efforts overnight to slow the fire's progression under dangerous and fast-changing conditions," according to the post.
Meanwhile, firefighters tackling the White Sage Fire were facing "very extreme fire behavior due to the dry conditions, gusty and erratic winds inhibiting the ability for fire fighters on the second night, to safely engage the fire," per a the U.S. Forest Service post.
"The fire made a significant run on the afternoon of July 10, spotting, and torching due to sustained winds from 15-20 mph, fueled by extremely dry conditions, low relative humidity, and low fuel moistures. This very active fire behavior continued into the evening and into the early morning."
What we're watching: Gusty and "erratic winds" were possible in and around thunderstorms, the National Weather Service said in a Sunday forecast discussion.
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USA Today
16 hours ago
- USA Today
The Grand Canyon fire exploded in size, catching officials off guard. Why?
When a lightning strike ignited a wildfire on the Grand Canyon's North Rim, fire officials allowed it to burn for several days as they set up containment lines and urged the public that it was not a threat. But then a dangerous shift in the weather occurred, turning the seemingly low-risk fire into a fast-moving blaze that jumped containment lines and torched dozens of buildings in the park over the weekend, including a historic lodge. What fueled the explosive growth of the Dragon Bravo Fire was a mix of gusty winds, dry air and above-normal heat – weather conditions experts described as atypical for this time of year, when monsoonal moisture typically tamps down wildfire risk across Arizona. 'It was a break in the monsoon pattern,' Robert Rickey, a science and operations officer with the National Weather Service, told The Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network. 'Rather than having daily afternoon showers, we had a period of several days without that. Instead, we had extremely dry, warm conditions.' Since its rapid expansion over the weekend, the wildfire has torched over 14 square miles of land, making it one of the largest wildfires to break out in a national park since 2021. No one has been injured as the North Rim and nearby communities were evacuated late last week because of a separate fire. Officials also shut down the North Rim – which receives only 10% of all park visitors – for the rest of the year. In recent days, members of the state's congressional delegation and Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs criticized the National Park Service's decision to initially treat the fire as a controlled burn – a practice that's regularly employed to reduce wildfire risks and promote healthy plant growth. The park service has said the wildfire was "expertly handled," blaming "historic" winds for the blaze's explosive growth and highlighting the evacuation of hundreds of residents, tourists and park employees. More: The Dragon Bravo Fire was unremarkable as it burned slowly over days — then the winds came How the weather fueled the Grand Canyon wildfire After the fire started on July 4, the National Park Service decided to manage the blaze as a controlled burn to benefit the land. But by July 10, the threat of expansion set in as a dry trough of low pressure passed over northern Arizona, pushing out monsoon moisture and bringing in drier air and gusty winds. Relative humidity dropped into the single digits. The winds shifted, blowing 20 mph from the west and northwest, fanning the flames and driving them across the North Rim. Temperatures climbed to the upper 80s and low 90s, about 10 degrees above average for this time of year. On Friday, July 11, the fire expanded by more than eight times its size. The rapid growth continued Saturday night as peak winds around 40 mph pushed the flames to buildings and a row of cabins that firefighters had sought to protect. The combination of weather conditions is unusual during the region's monsoon season, which officially runs from June 15 to Sept. 30, as heavy moisture and thunderstorms drive up humidity levels and limit the risk of wildfires. "During the monsoon season, we usually have high pressure sitting in place so we're not often dealing with strong west or northwest wind events," Rickey said. "This pattern just happened to line up in a way that really fueled the fire.' Should fire officials have attacked the blaze sooner? The "contain/confine" strategy that the National Park Service employed in the initial days of the wildfire is not uncommon, especially in national forests, said Susan Prichard, a research scientist specializing in wildfire ecology and management at the University of Washington. Prichard said such a decision is reached through extensive calculation, with authorities employing risk models and simulations to analyze the potential fire spread. If it's considered low-risk, fire managers will let a wildfire burn so it can chip away at fire fuels and limit the danger of future blazes. On the Grand Canyon's North Rim, the method worked for several days until gusty winds combined with low humidity and high temperatures to set the stage for extreme fire growth. "I feel bad for the managers here, because unfortunately the winds were not as predictable as we wish and they got an outlier event," Prichard said. She added that research supports the use of "let-it-burn" practices but said the damaging wildfire and its handling should be investigated. "Fire is a blunt tool so everything is risky," she said. "But when there's an outcome that's so far from what was expected, we need to learn from it." As fire rages on, pressure mounts over federal wildfire response The Dragon Bravo Fire has continued to grow in recent days but fire officials are hopeful that thunderstorms this week will help tamp down the flames. Officials said over 350 emergency responders were working in shifts with hand crews and bulldozers, setting up containment lines as they seek to "hold the fire to as small a perimeter as possible" and protect other buildings on the North Rim. As of Wednesday, July 16, the fire remained at 0% containment. Meanwhile, both sides of the political aisle have demanded an investigation into the National Park Service's response to the fire. Democratic Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego in a joint letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum requested a probe of why the blaze was initially treated as a controlled burn. And Republican Reps. Eli Crane and Paul Gosar pledged support for an investigation into the agency's wildfire response. Their demands came after the state governor called on the federal government to look into the matter. "The destruction of the Grand Canyon Lodge was a tragedy and Arizonans deserve answers," Hobbs said. Contributing: Perry Vandell and Caitlin McGlade, Arizona Republic
E&E News
18 hours ago
- E&E News
Interior defends response to Grand Canyon fire that burned lodge
The Interior Department on Wednesday defended the initial handling of the still-uncontrolled Dragon Bravo Fire that destroyed a beloved lodge at the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. Arizona's senators and governor have raised sharp questions about the firefighting response from the National Park Service — including whether the agency earlier this month essentially handled the fire as a 'controlled burn' until it rapidly expanded late last week. 'Some have chosen to politicize this situation while firefighters are still out there risking their lives. That's shameful,' Interior spokesperson J. Elizabeth Peace said in a statement. 'Our wildland firefighters are among the best in the world and will always prioritize life and safety over infrastructure.' Advertisement The Dragon Bravo Fire at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon began with a lightning strike late in the afternoon of July 4, growing to 9,289 acres and remaining 0 percent contained as of late Wednesday morning. A total of 529 personnel from multiple agencies were involved in the firefight that's shaped in large part by the weather, said Stefan La-Sky, a spokesperson for the federal multi-agency team managing the fire.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Time-lapse video of Dragon Bravo Fire shows Grand Canyon's North Rim in flames
A time-lapse video captured the wildfire burning on the Grand Canyon's North Rim, which destroyed the historic Grand Canyon Lodge and forced the shutdown of the Canyon's north side. Fire crews tried to contain the Dragon Bravo Fire, which sparked July 4 after a lightning strike. National Park Service officials initially managed the fire as a controlled burn, but hot and windy weather conditions fueled the fire and caused it to spread rapidly. Republic photographer Michael Chow captured the wildfire in a time-lapse video taken July 14 from the Canyon's South Rim. Chow set up his camera on a tripod, pointed it at the smoke, hoping it cleared at some point and and shot a photo every four seconds for 4 1/2 hours. Chow asked multiple people where exactly the fire was burning so he could point his camera in the right direction, because once he started the time-lapse, he couldn't change the orientation. Chow finished with just under 4,000 photos that were sequenced together for the time-lapse video. By July 14, the fire had scorched 5,716 acres and was still 0% contained, according to InciWeb, a federal wildfire tracking website. An estimated 70 structures were gone, park officials said. No injuries were reported. Gov. Katie Hobbs and Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., have since called for an investigation into the agency's early response to the wildfire. A National Park Service official said the fire was "expertly handled." Republic reporters Perry Vandell and Rey Covarrubias contributed to this article. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Fire in Grand Canyon: Time-lapse video shows North Rim in flames in AZ
