A wildfire that destroyed historic Grand Canyon Lodge spread after being allowed to burn for days

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK Ariz AP A wildfire that tore through a historic Grand Canyon lodge and raged out of control Monday had been allowed to burn for days before erupting over the weekend raising scrutiny over the National Park Arrangement s decision not to aggressively attack the fire right away The wildfire along the canyon s more isolated North Rim where the majority visitors don t venture was burning speedily with no containment fire leaders noted No injuries had been broadcasted but more than structures were lost including a visitors center and several cabins At first the fire didn t raise alarms after igniting from a lightning strike on July Four days later the Park Function revealed the fire was being allowed to burn to benefit the land and fire crews were keeping close watch There are no threats to infrastructure or populace safety at this time the park noted on Facebook Then three days later on Friday fire agents and the park arrangement sent out warnings to evacuate right now as the fire grew by nearly eight times within a day to more than square miles square kilometers Arizona Gov Katie Hobbs called for a federal scrutiny into the park utility s handling of the fire The federal cabinet chose to manage that fire as a controlled burn during the driest hottest part of the Arizona summer the governor stated in a social media post Sunday She will be meeting with leadership in the U S Forest Organization and the U S Department of the Interior soon to learn more about the decisions made in managing the wildfire Hobbs spokesperson Christian Slater noted in an email Officials first used a confine and contain strategy but shifted to aggressive suppression as the fire one of two that firefighters are dealing with on the North Rim rapidly grew because of hot temperatures low humidity and strong wind gusts fire functionaries noted The Associated Press left phone and email messages Monday with a park utility spokesperson seeking comment about how the fire was managed Historic lodge destroyed The fire destroyed the Grand Canyon Lodge the only lodging inside the park s North Rim along with employee housing and a wastewater therapy plant park Superintendent Ed Keable mentioned Sunday Park authorities have closed access for the rest of the year to the North Rim a less popular area that draws only about of the Grand Canyon s millions of annual visitors Hikers in the area were evacuated and rafters on the Colorado River which snakes through the canyon were communicated to work around Phantom Ranch an outpost of cabins and dormitories Trails to the area from the canyon s North and South rims also were closed From the air plumes of black smoke could be seen rising above the canyon walls and haze filled parts of the park From the park s South Rim visitors took pictures on Monday of the smoke blanketing the canyon in the distance The fire flared up Saturday night fueled by high winds Firefighters managed to make progress using aerial fire retardant drops near the lodge before they had to pull back because of a chlorine gas leak at the water therapy plant the park organization disclosed Hikers also were evacuated over concern that the poisonous heavier-than-air gas could sink downhill into the canyon U S Sens Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego sent a letter Monday to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum asking among other things how the administration planned to track wildfire decision-making under a latest executive order to consolidate federal firefighting forces into a single plan Fire season in the Western US Across the West about three dozen fires were burning uncontained and another fires were being managed to clear out vegetation that has clogged the landscape according to the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise Idaho So far this year nearly million acres million hectares have burned That s slightly below the -year average the center announced Monday A wildfire burning in southwestern Colorado closed Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and forced evacuations nearby It had burned about square miles square kilometers as of Monday The fire was started by lightning Thursday on the park s south rim a dramatic deep gorge carved by the Gunnison River Fire leaders noted 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 tragedy declaration because of the fire and others in western Colorado Along the Grand Canyon s North Rim the Dragon Bravo Fire that destroyed the lodge and other buildings spread to nearly square miles square kilometers Monday The White Sage Fire also grew significantly over the past day now having charred square miles square kilometers of terrain with no containment Bureaucrats published progress in battling the fire The fires came three years after two errant prescribed fires conducted by the U S Forest Amenity sparked the Hermit s Peak-Calf Canyon Fire which burned more than square miles square kilometers of the Rocky Mountain foothills and destroyed hundreds of homes History of the Grand Canyon Lodge 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 It was like you re looking at this movie all the time declared Erik Ammerlann who lived in Arizona for majority of his adult life and stayed at the lodge nearly years ago You re really just one with nature Caren Carney was staying there last week with her husband parents and -year-old son when a park ranger knocked on their door Thursday and recounted 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 across the canyon I m so glad we got to have one final look at it in the present before it was lost Carney mentioned Aramark the company that operated the lodge explained all employees and guests were safely evacuated An original lodge burned down from a kitchen fire in four years after construction was completed according to the Grand Canyon Historical Society The redesigned lodge using the original stonework opened in Seewer stated from Toledo Ohio Associated Press reporters Felicia Fonseca in Flagstaff Arizona Jaimie Ding in Los Angeles Mead Gruver in Cheyenne Wyoming Christopher Keller and Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque New Mexico Colleen Slevin in Denver and Safiyah Riddle in Montgomery Alabama contributed to this assessment Source