A wildfire has destroyed the Grand Canyon Lodge and closed the national park's North Rim for the 2025 season. Photo / Getty Images
A wildfire has destroyed the Grand Canyon Lodge and closed the national park's North Rim for the 2025 season. Photo / Getty Images
A historic lodge in Grand Canyon National Park was one of dozens of structures destroyed by a wildfire in northern Arizona that has prompted evacuations and forced the closure of the North Rim to visitors for the remainder of the 2025 season, authorities say.
The Grand Canyon Lodge, the onlylodging inside the park at the North Rim, was consumed by the Dragon Bravo Fire, a blaze sparked earlier this month that had engulfed 2000ha and destroyed at least 50 structures as of Monday (NZ time). It was burning about 56km south from the bigger White Sage Fire, which was “experiencing rapid growth” to the north and east on Monday after erupting last week near Arizona’s border with Utah.
The White Sage Fire had burned more than 16,000ha by Monday, doubling in size from the previous day. Firefighters had yet to get containment around any of the perimeter of either fire, according to federal officials.
“As stewards of some of our country’s most beloved national treasures, we are devastated by the loss of the Grand Canyon Lodge,” Aramark, the lodge’s operator, said in a statement on Monday. “We are grateful that all our employees and guests have been safely evacuated.”
The Grand Canyon Lodge, perched 2400m above sea level, housed dining facilities, a gift store and a post office, and it offered visitors a stunning view of the canyon. The original building burned down in 1932, four years after it was completed, and a new lodge that was known to visitors today was built on its footprint, according to the Grand Canyon Historical Society. It reopened in 1937 and the new building reused much of the original stonework.
The destruction from the Dragon Bravo Fire prompted Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs to call for an independent investigation into the federal Government’s emergency response. The Democrat contended that federal officials had treated the blaze as a “controlled burn during the driest, hottest part of the Arizona summer” instead of moving more quickly to end it.
“I am incredibly saddened by the destruction of the historic Grand Canyon Lodge, and my heart goes out to every person impacted by the Dragon Bravo Fire near the Grand Canyon’s North Rim,” Hobbs said in a statement on X. “An incident of this magnitude demands intense oversight and scrutiny.”
Elizabeth Peace, a spokeswoman for the Interior Department, said in an email Monday: “The allegation that this fire was managed as a controlled burn is not at all accurate and our wildland fire experts certainly know the difference.” She said the department “takes the threat of wildfires with the utmost seriousness and is committed to protecting lives, communities, and treasured public lands through science-driven fire management and rapid response”.
Prevailing winds have normally driven fires in a direction that have bypassed the North Rim’s developed area, where the Grand Canyon Lodge was, according to Stephen Pyne, a professor emeritus at Arizona State University who has spent 15 years as a firefighter in the North Rim area.
As of Monday, authorities in Arizona’s Coconino County had issued evacuation notices for areas north and south of the unincorporated township of Jacob Lake and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park, according to the Bureau of Land Management.
National Park Service officials also warned that the Dragon Bravo Fire had affected a water-treatment facility in the North Rim area on Sunday, causing a chlorine gas leak. Chlorine gas is heavier than air and can quickly settle into lower elevations such as the inner canyon, the Park Service said. Chlorine gas hurts the respiratory tract and can be fatal.
It added that the North Kaibab Trail, the Phantom Ranch area and the South Kaibab Trail would remain closed until an assessment was completed.
Grand Canyon National Park attracts millions of people annually and received 4.9 million visitors last year, according to the National Park Service. It said the South Rim remains open and operational.
