A raging wildfire near the Grand Canyon in the US has destroyed dozens of buildings – including a historic lodge that was the only accommodation available within the surrounding national park’s North Rim.
The fire that destroyed the Grand Canyon Lodge is one of two that has swept across tens of thousands of acres in the area.
The blazes have also forced the closure of the North Rim for the remainder of the 2025 tourist season.
Authorities in the state of Arizona are still working to contain the fires, which have been dubbed the Dragon Bravo Fire and White Sage Fire.
The Dragon Bravo Fire began on 4 July and was caused by a lightning strike, according to authorities. The Wild Sage Fire, meanwhile, was reported on 9 July after a thunderstorm rolled through the area. Both are 0% contained as of Monday.
Located approximately 8,000ft (2,438m), the Grand Canyon Lodge also included dining facilities, a gift shop and post office. It had been operating since the 1930s.
“As stewards of some of our country’s most beloved national treasures, we are devastated by the loss of the Grand Canyon Lodge,” Aramark, the company that operated the lodge, said in a statement.
“We are grateful that all of our employees and guests have been safely evacuated,” the statement added.
No injuries are reported to have 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) indicate that between 50 and 80 buildings have been lost to the Dragon Bravo Fire, including administrative buildings and visitor facilities.
Firefighters in several areas were forced to evacuate due to a leak of chlorine at a nearby water treatment facility, the NPS added.
Chlorine gas is heavier than air and can settle in lower elevations, potentially posing a risk to both firefighters and hikers in the area.
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, thanked first responders but called for an inquiry into the federal government’s handling of the Dragon Bravo Fire.
“While the flame was started with a lightning strike, the federal government chose to manage that fire as a controlled burn during the driest, hottest part of the Arizona summer,” Hobbs wrote in a social media post on Sunday.
She added there should be “intense oversight and scrutiny” and called on the federal government to investigate the response.
In a statement to media, Elizabeth Peace, a spokesperson for the US Interior Department, said the allegation that the fire was mismanaged “is not at all accurate and our wildland fire experts certainly know the difference”.
She added that the department takes the threat of wildfires “with the utmost seriousness”.
The second blaze, the White Sage Fire, has so far burned more than 40,000 acres of the Kaibab National Forest, forcing hundreds to evacuate.
Nearly five million people visited the Grand Canyon in 2024, making it one of the most popular tourist destinations in the US.
The canyon’s South Rim remains open.