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Historic Grand Canyon Lodge Destroyed In Arizona Wildfire
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.
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
Smoke from regional wildfires billows over trees near the Grand Canyon in Arizona in this image released on July 11, 2025, obtained from social media. NPS Photo/L. Cisneros via REUTERS (NPS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES.)
A firefighter stands near smoldering debris and active flames amid the charred remains of a burned structure near the Grand Canyon Lodge in Arizona, U.S. July 13, 2025. National Park Service/Handout via REUTERS (NPS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT.)
A general view of the front entrance of the Grand Canyon Lodge in Arizona, U.S. June 25, 2007. The lodge was destroyed in the Dragon Bravo wildfire in July 2025. National Park Service/Michael Quinn/Handout via REUTERS (NPS ational Park Service/Michael Quinn/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT.)
Graig Graziosi14 July 2025 15:00
Visitors and staff at two national parks in the U.S. West have been evacuated because of wildfires.
The Grand Canyon’s North Rim in Arizona closed Thursday because of a wildfire on adjacent Bureau of Land Management land near Jacob Lake that began Wednesday evening after a thunderstorm moved through the area.
The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office said it helped evacuate people from an area north of Jacob Lake and campers in the Kaibab National Forest nearby. The fire burned about 1.5 square miles (3.9 square kilometers) with zero containment.
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, about 260 miles (418 kilometers) southwest of Denver, also closed Thursday morning after lightning sparked blazes on both rims, the park said.
Graig Graziosi14 July 2025 14:40
Visitors of a historic lodge on the Grand Canyon’s North Rim have expressed their heartbreak online, after the structure was destroyed by a fast-moving wildfire.
“This is a devastating loss for park employees, all of us who’ve had the pleasure of staying here, and everyone who will never get a chance to see it,” one user wrote, after the National Park announced the news Sunday.
The Grand Canyon Lodge, the only lodging inside the park at the North Rim, was consumed by the flames, according to park Superintendent Ed Keeble. He added that the visitor center, the gas station, a waste water treatment plant, an administrative building and some employee housing also were lost to the flames.
Graig Graziosi14 July 2025 14:23
