Historic Grand Canyon Lodge destroyed by wildfire on North Rim of national park as firefighters battle blazes
A fire near the Grand Canyon in Arizona has destroyed dozens of structures, including the historic Grand Canyon Lodge and a water treatment facility, which caused a chlorine gas leak that forced firefighters to evacuate.
Two wildfires are burning at or near the North Rim, a less popular area of the park that draws only about 10% of the Grand Canyon's millions of annual visitors. The fires are known as the Dragon Bravo Fire, which started on July 4, and the White Sage Fire, which began Wednesday. The Dragon Bravo Fire is the one that impacted the lodge and other structures.
Map shows where fires are burning near Grand Canyon
The Dragon Bravo Fire "exhibited extreme and volatile fire behavior" Saturday night and expanded to about 5,700 acres by Monday, officials said. It was fueled by up to 40 mph wind gusts, but firefighters were able to slow the fire's progression using aerial drops of flame retardant.
More than 70 structures have been lost, including National Park Service administrative buildings and visitor facilities. Photos posted to social media by officials on Sunday showed structures near the Grand Canyon Lodge — the only lodging inside the park at the North Rim — burned to the ground.
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 was open in May through mid-October.
The Grand Canyon Lodge was often the first prominent feature that visitors saw, even before viewing the canyon. A highway ends at the lodge, which was known for its sloped roof, huge ponderosa beams and massive limestone facade.
Aramark, the company that operated the lodge, said all employees and guests were safely evacuated.
"As stewards of some [of] our country's most beloved national treasures, we are devastated by the loss," said spokesperson Debbie Albert.
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 said 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.
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.
Thomas Sulpizio, president of the historical society, said the lodge contained some valuable archives that he wasn't sure were saved.
The lobby also contained a famous 600-pound bronze statue of a donkey named "Brighty the Burro."
"Arizona lost more than a historic lodge, it lost a piece of our state history," said Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego in a message posted on social media.
Gallego said he was devastated by the loss and backed a call by Gov. Katie Hobbs for "a comprehensive, independent investigation into the handling of fire and the rationale for treating it as a controlled burn — especially as Arizona experiences the driest, hardest part of summer," adding: "I will do my part on the federal level to get answers."
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 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," Hobbs said on social media.
Park Superintendent Ed Keable told park residents, staff and others in a meeting Sunday morning that the visitor center, the gas station, a wastewater treatment plant, an administrative building and some employee housing were among the structures lost. Numerous historic cabins in the area were also destroyed, the park said.
Fire personnel had to evacuate from critical zones, as "the use of aerial retardant was not feasible" due to the chlorine gas leak, the National Park Service said.
Chlorine gas is heavier than air, meaning it can settle into lower elevations such as the inner canyon and pose a health risk to fire personnel and hikers, according to the park service.
A hazmat team was working to mitigate the effects of the gas leak, officials said.
Parts of the park are closed, and all Colorado River trips have been instructed to bypass Phantom Ranch, which has a set of cabins and dormitories along the river and is more than 200 miles south of the Dragon Bravo Fire.
No injuries or loss of life have been reported, fire managers said.
Meanwhile, the White Sage Fire located in Kaibab National Forest has forced hundreds to evacuate as it doubled in size on Sunday. It has scorched over 49,000 acres and hasn't been contained, according to authorities.
Melinda Rich Marshall, who works at the nearby Jacob Lake Inn, had to evacuate quickly after a deputy called. It was the second time in five years she had to flee from the lodge, which has been owned by her family for more than a century.
"There is a doorjamb that catalogs all of the heights, right, that, you know, like your parents do," an emotional Marshall told CBS News correspondent Ian Lee. "Well, it was my granddad that did that ... so I just went, and I took a video of it."
Air tankers dropped nearly 180,000 gallons of retardant along the fire's northern and southern perimeters Sunday, slowing the spread of the blaze, officials said.
Both fires in Arizona are believed to have been started by lightning, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
Canadian wildfires' smoke blankets the Upper Midwest
An intensifying wildfire season also sees the return of Canadian wildfire smoke into the U.S. Parts of the Upper Midwest were dealing with swaths of unhealthy air because of drifting smoke.
Parts of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin were ranked unhealthy or unhealthy for sensitive groups for air quality on Monday on a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency map.
On Saturday, a part of North Dakota that is home to Theodore Roosevelt National Park and other tourist attractions was ranked "very unhealthy," with some of the worst air quality in the nation.
In Minnesota, "if you have a nice pork loin you can hang from a tree, it'll turn into ham," quipped Al Chirpich, owner of the Hideaway Resort near Detroit Lakes, where people come to enjoy tree-lined Island Lake for fishing and other water activities.
The conditions started Friday, dragging smoke from the Canadian wildfires down to the surface, said National Weather Service meteorologist Jennifer Ritterling, in Grand Forks. Periods of bad air quality were expected to last through the weekend in the region, she said.
Limiting time outdoors, keeping windows closed and running air purifiers are good ideas for people with lung conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and even healthy people, Ritterling said.
"Our summers up here are fairly short and so everyone wants to get out and enjoy them, and it's a little frustrating when there's this smoke in the air," she said.
Meanwhile, all of Manitoba is under a state of emergency because of the wildfires, which have led to 12,600 people evacuating their homes in the Canadian province. The fires in the central province have burned nearly 2.5 million acres, the most land burned in 30 years of electronic record-keeping.
Under 1,000 people have evacuated their homes in Saskatchewan, where wildfires also continue to burn.
National Weather Service warns of smoke, dangerous heat
Forecasters and national Arizona parks officials have been issuing warnings over dangerous weather conditions in the last few days as temperatures reach over 110 degrees Fahrenheit. An extreme heat warning was in effect until Wednesday evening for locations in the Grand Canyon below an elevation of 4,000 feet, like Phantom Ranch.
"Not only is there dangerous heat at the lower levels of the Grand Canyon, but lots of smoke and high fire danger," NWS Flagstaff said on social media on Saturday. "Don't mess around."
A 67-year-old Texas man died while hiking in the Grand Canyon, the National Park Service said Wednesday.
In Colorado, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park was closed because of a wildfire burning over 3,600 acres Monday on the South Rim of the park, known for its dramatic, steep cliffs. The fire was started by lightning Thursday.
Fire officials said the brush and trees were very dry, and there was only a minimal chance for rain in the coming days. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis issued a disaster declaration because of the fire and others in western Colorado.
Chirpich, the Minnesota resort owner, said he has plans to go to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park on Thursday and is "a bit pensive about how that's going to be there."
"I'm going to leave one smokehouse for another, I guess," he said.
