Two wildfires, one burning near the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and the other farther north on the Kaibab Plateau, have scorched over 70,000 acres of northern Arizona wildland, according to state and federal fire officials.
As of July 20, the White Sage Fire has burned 58,842 acres in the Kaibab National Forest about 15 miles south of Fredonia, according to the Great Basin Complex Incident Management Team 6 on InciWeb, a federal wildfire tracker. Firefighters reached 31% containment.
About 30 miles to the south, Dragon Bravo Fire had burned 12,645 acres and reached 8% containment, according to the Southwest Area Complex Incident Management Team in a morning Facebook update.
Over 1,000 fire personnel combined had been assigned to both fires.
Here’s the latest information on both of the fires and the destruction they have caused.
Drago Bravo Fire destroyed historic lodge and dozens of structures
The Dragon Bravo Fire has burned nearly 13,000 acres on the Grand Canyon North Rim, but firefighters established some containment in the southeast corner of the blaze, according to the Southwest Area Complex Incident Management Team.
About 850 personnel were battling the fire, the team said.
It had been more than a week since the Dragon Bravo Fire engulfed and ultimately destroyed the historic Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.
As of July 15, about 100 structures had been destroyed as a result of the fire, most of which were cabins used to house visitors, according to a preliminary structure loss report from the Grand Canyon National Park.
State Route 67, known as the Grand Canyon Highway, was being used by firefighters as an area to manage the fire, according to the Southwest Area Complex Incident Management Team. Some spots of fire east of the freeway were seen, along with south of Lindbergh Hill, the team said.
Crews will continue to fight the fire near the southern area of the Grand Canyon National Park.
In the north, firefighters were working on an indirect fire line in the Kaibab National Forest along Forest Road 610, just east of SR 67. The fire was expected to continue moving towards the north and east, the team said.
The North Rim will remain closed for the rest of the 2025 season, according to NPS.
The following other areas were closed as a result of the fire, NPS said:
North Kaibab Trail and South Kaibab Trail.
Bright Angel Trail below Havasupai Gardens. River exchanges are allowed to pass through this area at their discretion.
Phantom Ranch and Bright Angel campgrounds. River runners are not to stop at Boat Beach but may continue to Pipe Creek Beach for exchanges.
River Trail between Pipe Creek and the South Kaibab.
Tonto East between Havasupai Gardens and Tip Off.
All backcountry routes and canyoneering routes stemming from the North or South Kaibab or Bright Angel Trail.
The latest on the White Sage Fire on the Kaibab Plateau
Almost 700 personnel continued to battle the nearly 59,000-acre White Sage Fire, which was only 31% contained as of July 20, according to the Great Basin Complex Incident Management Team 6 in a news release. Lightning originally caused the fire.
That containment was up 4% from the day before, but a gradual warming trend could dry out the land and create more active fire conditions, according to the release.
Firefighters continued to battle the fire on all sides, utilizing heavy equipment in some areas to establish a perimeter on the blaze and extinguish hot spots.
Along State Route 89A on the southern edge of the fire, crews worked to contain the fire north of the freeway, creating a barrier that limited its spread with the use of the roadway as a fire line, the release said.
The latest evacuation information can be found on Coconino County’s dedicated webpage, which has a map showing different evacuation zones.
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: Dragon Bravo and White Sage wildfires scorch over 70,000 acres