Historic lodge destroyed in Grand Canyon blaze

A raging wildfire adjacent the Grand Canyon successful the US has destroyed dozens of buildings - including a historical lodge that was the lone accommodation disposable wrong the surrounding nationalist park's North Rim.

The occurrence that destroyed the Grand Canyon Lodge is 1 of 2 that has swept crossed tens of thousands of acres successful the area.

The blazes person besides forced the closure of the North Rim for the remainder of the 2025 tourer season.

Authorities successful the authorities of Arizona are inactive moving to incorporate the fires, which person been dubbed the Dragon Bravo Fire and White Sage Fire.

Located astir 8,000ft (2,438m), the Grand Canyon Lodge besides included eating facilities, a acquisition store and station office. It had been operating since the 1930s.

"As stewards of immoderate of our country's astir beloved nationalist treasures, we are devastated by the nonaccomplishment of the Grand Canyon Lodge," Aramark, the institution that operated the lodge, said successful a statement.

"We are grateful that each of our employees and guests person been safely evacuated," the connection added.

No injuries are reported to person been caused by the blaze, which was fuelled by sustained winds that reached up to 40mph (64km/h).

But preliminary assessments from the National Park Service (NPS) bespeak that betwixt 50 and 80 buildings person been mislaid to the Dragon Bravo Fire, including administrative buildings and visitant facilities.

Firefighters successful respective areas were forced to evacuate owed to a leak of chlorine astatine a adjacent h2o attraction facility, the NPS added.

Chlorine state is heavier than aerial and tin settee successful little elevations, perchance posing a hazard to some firefighters and hikers successful the area.

The 2nd blaze, the White Sage Fire, has truthful acold burned much than 40,000 acres of the Kaibab National Forest, forcing hundreds to evacuate.

Both the fires are believed to person been started by lightning, the parkland work said.

Nearly 5 cardinal radical visited the Grand Canyon successful 2024, making it 1 of the astir fashionable tourer destinations successful the US.

The canyon's South Rim remains open.