By Andrew Hay
(Reuters) -A wildfire in tinder-dry forest on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon grew around 50% on Tuesday after it destroyed dozens of buildings, prompting public outrage that it was left to burn for a week before firefighters tried to fully extinguish it.
The so-called Dragon Bravo Fire swelled to 8,570 acres (3,468 hectares) after burning the historic Grand Canyon Lodge and 70 other structures, including tourist cabins and park staff housing over the weekend, a spokesperson for the incident team said.
Local media reported around 280 National Park Service workers lost their housing in the blaze sparked by lightning on July 4.
“It’s just like perfect tinder-dry for a fire,” said spokesperson Stefan La-Sky of record-low tree moisture in ponderosa pine and fir forest on the North Rim.
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs has demanded an independent investigation into why National Park Service staff let the fire burn during the driest time of the summer in a botched attempt to reduce wildfire risks and improve forest health.
The National Park Service said it initially treated the fire with a “confine and contain” strategy to allow for the natural role of fire to reduce fuel accumulations, stimulate new plant growth and help regulate insects and disease.
It switched to an “aggressive full suppression strategy” after strong northwest winds on July 11, uncommon to the area, drove the fire towards park buildings on the edge of the canyon, according to the InciWeb U.S. government wildfire site.
The blaze was the second so-called managed wildfire on the North Rim in as many decades to have raged out of control.
The Warm Fire in 2006 was allowed to burn for weeks following a lightning strike before high winds sent it out of control, briefly trapping hundreds of tourists and park workers before they were evacuated. It went on to burn 59,000 acres (24,000 hectares), much of it severely.
The North Rim of the park will remain closed for the rest of the 2025 season, which runs to October, and inner canyon trails and campgrounds are closed until further notice, the National Park Service said. The South Rim of the park, which attracts around 5 million visitors annually, remains open.
(Reporting By Andrew Hay; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
