As one of the two major wildfires burning in northern Arizona inched closer to total containment, the other burning on the Grand Canyon’s North Rim grew by over 9,000 acres in one day, according to fire command officials.
The Dragon Bravo and White Sage fires continued to engulf northern Arizona, burning more than 100,000 acres combined since starting earlier in the month, as of July 27.
The small Oak Point Fire that started south of the White Sage Fire burn area was 100% contained at 85 acres, according to federal wildfire tracker InciWeb.
Here’s everything to know about the wildfires that were still burning.
Dragon Bravo Fire continues to grow
After lightning caused the fire on July 4, the Dragon Bravo Fire grew to 44,429 acres by July 27, a jump of 8,960 acres from the day before, according to the Southwest Area Complex Incident Management Team 4.
The fire was 26% contained with 1,048 people assigned to fight the fire, according to the southwest team.
“Today’s operation will focus on protecting values at risk and assessment of new contingency lines and preparing for changes in fire behavior,” the southwest team wrote in an update on InciWeb.
The fire’s northeastern section remained the most active, while also burning into previous fire scars in the area.
The Grand Canyon Lodge was destroyed in the fire on July 12. The blaze was also putting other nearby historic structures at risk, including the Kaibab Lodge, located on the north side of the fire along the closed State Route 67.
Crews were actively staged in and around the lodge, providing critical structure protection, according to Larry Innes, owner of the lodge. Crews had already prepared other structures in the House Rock area, the southwest team said.
Much of the growth of the Dragon Bravo Fire was attributed to the third consecutive day of dry, windy weather that aggravated the fire, according to the team.
White Sage Fire inches toward containment
Further north in the Kaibab National Forest, the White Sage Fire continued to show positive signs of containment, the Color Country Team 2 said. The team assumed command of firefighting efforts on July 26, according to InciWeb. The fire had spread to 59,065 acres and was 83% contained.
The size of the crews fighting the fire was cut in half from the day before, down to 135 personnel, according to the team.
The fire started July 9 and was estimated to be contained by July 30, according to InciWeb. Active suppression efforts remained ongoing.
State Route 89A had reopened, but SR 67 remained closed, according to InciWeb.
The Arizona Bureau of Land Management recalled a closure near Vermilion Cliffs National Monument due to decreased fire activity, the team said.
Rey Covarrubias Jr. reports breaking news for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. Email him at: rcovarrubias@gannett.com, and connect with him on Instagram, Threads, Bluesky and X (formerly Twitter) at @ReyCJrAZ.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Latest on Dragon Bravo and White Sage fires in northern Arizona