Latest news with #ParkSuperintendent
The Guardian
14-07-2025
- Climate
- 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 on 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 sq km) 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, the park superintendent, Ed Keable, said on 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 on 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 2.5m acres have burned. That is slightly below the 10-year average, according to the center. Near the Grand Canyon's North Rim, two wildfires were 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 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 on Thursday and told them to evacuate. She was heartbroken on 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. The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know. If you have something to share on this subject you can contact us confidentially using the following methods. Secure Messaging in the Guardian app The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said. If you don't already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS/Android) and go to the menu. Select 'Secure Messaging'. SecureDrop, instant messengers, email, telephone and post See our guide at for alternative methods and the pros and cons of each. 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 on 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.
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
‘It was very magical': Former Grand Canyon Lodge employee mourns its loss after wildfire
According to the park superintendent, the fire destroyed multiple structures, including the Grand Canyon Lodge, the only lodging inside the park's North Rim. When former Grand Canyon Lodge employee Jody Brand heard the news from her son, memories of her time there came flooding back.
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- Yahoo
Historic Grand Canyon lodge destroyed by wildfire
FLAGSTAFF, Arizona — A historic lodge on the Grand Canyon's North Rim has been destroyed by a fast-moving wildfire, the park said Sunday. The Grand Canyon Lodge, the only lodging inside the park at the North Rim, was consumed by the flames, park Superintendent Ed Keable told park residents, staff and others in a meeting Sunday morning. He said the visitor center, the gas station, a waste water treatment plant, an administrative building and some employee housing were among the 50 to 80 structures lost. Two wildfires are burning at or near the North Rim, known as the White Sage Fire and the Dragon Bravo Fire. The latter is the one that impacted the lodge and other structures. The park initially was managing it as a controlled burn but then shifted to suppression as it rapidly grew to 7.8 square miles because of hot temperatures, low humidity and wind, fire officials said. No injuries have been reported. Millions of people visit Grand Canyon National Park annually, with most going to the more popular South Rim. The North Rim is open seasonally. It was evacuated last Thursday because of wildfire. Firefighters at the North Rim and hikers in the inner canyon were evacuated over the weekend. The park said along with the fire risk, they could potentially be exposed to chlorine gas after the treatment plant burned. Chlorine gas is heavier than air and can lead to blurred vision, irritation or respiratory problems if high amounts of it are breathed in, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rafters on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon also were told to bypass Phantom Ranch, which has a set of cabins and dormitories along the river. The North Rim lodge was often the first prominent feature that visitors see, even before viewing the canyon. A highway ends at the lodge, which was known for its sloped roof, huge ponderosa beams and massive limestone facade. By walking across the lobby and descending a stairwell, visitors could get their first view of the Grand Canyon shining through windows across the 'Sun Room.' Meanwhile, officials reported progress in battling a second wildfire burning north of the Grand Canyon. Fire lines on the White Sage Fire that forced evacuations at the North Rim and in the community of Jacob Lake were holding, officials said. On the southern edge of the fire, hand crews and bulldozers were working uphill, and the spread of the blaze had been minimal. But to the east and north, the fire has spread rapidly, with grasses and standing dead trees contributing to the fire's intensity, officials said. The fire was pushing downhill toward the Vermilion Cliffs area, and crews were assessing opportunities to create buffer zones that help slow or halt the fire's progress.
