Firefighters continue to combat a fast-moving wildfire that destroyed dozens of buildings in the Grand Canyon National Park over the weekend and has closed its North Rim to visitors for the rest of the season, according to the National Park Service.
The Dragon Bravo Fire, caused by a lightning strike inside the park July 4, was zero percent contained as of Monday, according to InciWeb, a government fire-tracking website. It described Dragon Bravo as “very active, driven by hot temperatures, low relative humidity, and continued strong wind gusts.”
Park Superintendent Ed Keable told park residents and staff in a meeting Sunday that a visitor center, gas station, water treatment plant and the historic Grand Canyon Lodge are among 50 to 80 structures destroyed by the fire so far, according to reporting by the Associated Press.
Historic cabins, staff housing and an administrative building were also lost, but no serious injuries or deaths have been reported.
