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Grand Canyon Lodge Destroyed as Wildfire Rages Across North Rim

Prime Highlights

  • A very ancient “Grand Canyon Lodge” on the North Rim was destroyed by a fiercely burning wildfire caused by lightning.
  • Over 80 structures were lost; the North Rim will stay closed the remainder of the 2025 season.

Key Fact

  • The “Dragon Bravo Fire” has burned 5,000 acres and remains entirely uncontained.
  • Another fire, the “White Sage Fire,” burned well over 40,000 acres to the north.

Key Background

The catastrophic fall of the old “Grand Canyon Lodge” came after the incidence of a lightning strike that caused the “Dragon Bravo Fire” to blaze on July 4. The fire was initially contained through a confine-and-contain approach, but then spread in extreme weather conditions—searing heat, dry humidity, and powerful winds. It spread in a matter of moments over more than 5,000 acres and destroyed a string of park buildings, from visitor centers to historic cabins, staff barracks, and a wastewater treatment plant.

The “Grand Canyon Lodge,” built in 1937 out of Kaibab limestone and wood, was a beloved icon on the North Rim. Infamously rustic in build with stunning canyon views from the legendary Sun Room, it had welcomed millions of people in almost nine decades. The loss is a cruel one to Arizona’s natural and cultural legacy.

As the fire increased, water air drops were initiated, but evacuations were necessitated by the discharge of poisonous chlorine gas when the ruptured wastewater treatment facility was opened up. Park workers, visitors, and backpackers needed to be evacuated, some several miles away in the canyon, without incident, and no one has incurred any damage. North Rim, inner canyon trail, and Phantom Ranch access is closed for the rest of the 2025 season.

Meanwhile, the stand-alone “White Sage Fire,” which was raging to the north of the park, has hindered attempts to put it out by consuming over 40,000 acres. Firefighters labor day and night building containment lines and protecting nearby communities like Jacob Lake. The twin fire threat refers to the increasing dangers of global-warming-driven wildfires in the American West—where a record period of heat, dryness, and lightning is driving wildfire seasons far beyond past experience. Arizona authorities called for an investigation of the initial response to the fire, stating that there should have been more assertive early containment amid the highest wildfire risk.

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