FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A wildfire that destroyed a historic lodge and a visitors center on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon has expanded significantly over a week since it started, as firefighters continued their efforts on Monday to contain it.
Park authorities have decided to close access to the North Rim for the remainder of the year. This area is more secluded and less frequented, attracting merely about 10% of the Grand Canyon’s millions of visitors annually.
The fire has demolished the Grand Canyon Lodge, the sole accommodation within the park’s North Rim, along with cabins, staff housing, and a sewage treatment facility, park Superintendent Ed Keable stated on Sunday.
From the air, plumes of black smoke could be seen rising above the canyon walls.
Firefighters at the North Rim and hikers in the inner canyon were evacuated during the weekend over concerns about the fire and potential exposure to chlorine gas after a treatment plant burned.
Rafters on the Colorado River, which snakes through the Grand Canyon, were told to bypass Phantom Ranch, an outpost of cabins and dormitories at the bottom of the canyon.
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs on Sunday called for a federal investigation into the National Park Service’s decision not to first aggressively attack the fire, which was sparked by lightning July 4.
Authorities first used a “confine and contain” strategy by clearing fuel sources, but shifted to aggressive suppression a week later as the fire rapidly grew to 7.8 square miles (20 square kilometers) because of hot temperatures, low humidity and strong wind gusts, fire officials said.
“Arizonans deserve answers for how this fire was allowed to decimate the Grand Canyon National Park,” the governor said in a social media post.
No injuries have been reported, but 50 to 80 structures have been lost, the park superintendent said.
There are two wildfires burning near the North Rim — 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 (162 square kilometers) 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 Thursday and told them to evacuate.
She was heartbroken 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.
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 southwestern Colorado closed Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and forced the evacuation of homes near the park. The fire was started by lightning Thursday on the south rim of the park, a dramatic, deep gorge carved by the Gunnison River.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis issued a disaster declaration Sunday because of it and other fires burning in western Colorado.
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Ding reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writers John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; Colleen Slevin in Denver; Bruce Schreiner in Louisville, Kentucky; and Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City contributed to this report.
