Tourists, residents evacuated from Grand Canyon due to wildfires
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
The canyon’s North Rim was cleared of all visitors due to a blaze called the White Sage Fire.
PHOTO: REUTERS
LOS ANGELES - Fast-spreading wildfires have forced the evacuation of part of the Grand Canyon, with the US National Park Service ordering visitors and residents away from its northern rim.
“Due to the advancing Dragon Bravo Fire within Grand Canyon National Park, all North Rim residents are now in ‘GO’ status and should evacuate the North Rim immediately,” the National Park Service said in an X post on the afternoon of July 11.
The Dragon Bravo Fire, which was sparked by lightning and has been burning since July 4, was 61ha in size on the evening of July 11, and zero per cent contained, a US government incident report said.
Park Service staff had already cleared the North Rim, which is less popular with tourists than the South Rim, of some 500 visitors late on July 10.
Day-use access to the area was also closed due to a larger blaze called the White Sage Fire, which was burning outside the Grand Canyon National Park.
However, it was approaching Jacob Lake, Arizona, a small settlement known as the gateway to the North Rim.
About 4,441ha have been scorched by the White Sage Fire which is zero per cent contained, according to authorities, who released images of large columns of smoke rising above the scrubby desert.
Mr Jon Paxton, press officer for the Coconino County sheriff’s office, told AFP that a hotel and some businesses had all been emptied.
“Most of the folks we evacuated were campers,” he said. “This area is high desert and mostly open forest for camping.”
The White Sage Fire was also started by lightning, during a thunderstorm on July 9.
“Crews encountered very extreme fire behaviour due to the dry conditions (and) gusty and erratic winds inhibiting the ability for firefighters to safely engage the fire,” the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) said.
One of the greatest wonders of the natural world, the Grand Canyon is the result of the Colorado River eating away at layers of red sandstone and other rock for millions of years, leaving a gash up to 30km wide and more than 1.6km deep.
The Park Service advised against any hiking into the canyon, due to extreme heat and wildfire smoke.
A 67-year-old man died on July 8 while attempting to reach the river in hot conditions.
In 2024, almost five million people visited the world-famous site.
Another popular site, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in Colorado, was also closed on July 11 because of a wildfire. AFP
