Dragon Bravo Fire
Part of the2025 Arizona wildfires
The Dragon Bravo Fire seen from the South Rim of theGrand Canyon on July 30, 2025
Date(s)	July 4, 2025 (2025-07-04) – September 29, 2025 (2025-09-29)
Location	Grand Canyon North Rim
Coordinates	36°23′20.4″N112°2′54.4″W / 36.389000°N 112.048444°W /36.389000; -112.048444
Statistics
Perimeter	100% contained
Burned area	145,504 acres (58,883 ha)
Impacts
Deaths	1
Structures destroyed	113 including Grand Canyon Lodge[1]
Ignition
Cause	Lightning
Map
Perimeter of Dragon Bravo Fire (map data)
Location in northern Arizona

TheDragon Bravo Fire was amegafire at theNorth Rim ofGrand Canyon National Park inArizona. Thewildfire was started by lightning. It was initially called in on July 4, 2025. On September 29, 2025, the fire was listed as 100% contained after burning 145,504 acres (58,883 ha). Fire suppression costs on that date reached $135,000,000.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

The fire has destroyed 113 structures, including the historicGrand Canyon Lodge.^[1][7]

It became the7th largest wildfire in Arizona history and was the largest wildfire in theUnited States excluding Alaska during the2025 wildfire season.^[8][9][10]

The North Rim of the Grand Canyon saw only 50% of its average monsoon rain in the summer of 2024. This was followed by only 50% of average snowfall during the 2024-2025 winter. Prolonged drought conditions and repeatedred flag warnings due to critically lowhumidity with little to no monsoon activity further heightened fire danger.^[11][12][13] Record setting temperatures at the North Rim in the mid 80s °F, combined with strong afternoon winds, contributed to the rapid spread of the Dragon Bravo Fire across the North Rim. According to the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, both live and dead fuelmoisture was at historically low levels.^[14] Persistent rainfall deficits across the North Rim and surrounding areas accelerated flammability, while delayed monsoon storms failed to provide sufficient relief to moderate conditions.

July 4, 2025

A lightning caused fire on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon is first reported on July 4, 2025, at around 5:05 pmMST. The Williams Interagency Fire Dispatch Center assigns fires their names. A previous fire in the area was called the Dragon Fire. This second fire is called Dragon B, hence Dragon Bravo. Firefighters initially chose a confine and contain strategy and allow the fire to burn.^[2][15]

July 7, 2025

The fire is reported at 10 acres in size.^[16]

July 9, 2025

The lightning causedWhite Sage Fire is first reported on Bureau of Land Management land roughly 50 miles northwest of the North Rim Developed Area.^[17]

July 10, 2025

The White Sage Fire greatly expands in size, closing Highway 89A north ofJacob Lake, Arizona. This prompts evacuation of the visitors at the North Rim Developed Area per the Coconino County Sheriff's Office. North Rim Developed Area Park staff and Lodge employees are told they must stay in place or they would not retain their jobs.^{[failed verification][18]}

July 11, 2025

The Dragon Bravo Fire greatly expands. North Rim National Park Service employees and North Rim Lodge concessionaire employees are ordered to evacuate (At 1pm the employees were told that they were staying in place and the employee bar was opened then at 4:30pm the evacuation order was given). Later that night the fire burns into the North Rim Developed area, destroying the water treatment plant.^[19][20]

July 12, 2025

Chlorine gas cylinders stored at the waste water treatment plant begin to leak chlorine gas. The chlorine gas cylinders are used to chlorinate the water at Roaring Springs. This spring's water is used as the main water source for the North and South Rim Developed areas of the Park. Firefighters are temporarily evacuated from the North Rim, as are employees and guests atPhantom Ranch. This evacuation include construction crews near the Ranch working on the new water pipeline to the South Rim. River trips on the Colorado River in the Ranch are told to avoid stopping at the Bright Angel Boat Beach. Helicopters begin drawing water from the Colorado River below Horn Creek Rapid to use in fire suppression efforts at the North Rim Developed Area.^{[21][22][23][24][19]}

July 13, 2025

In the early hours of July 13, 2025, the historicGrand Canyon Lodge at theNorth Rim is destroyed by the fire. Dozens of other structures in the North Rim Developed area are also destroyed. Historic buildings destroyed include the Visitors Center and cabins associated with theGrand Canyon Inn and Campground, as well as theGrand Canyon North Rim Headquarters.^{[1][7][19][25]}

July 27–30, 2025

On July 27, the fire is now 50,323 acres (20,365 ha) in size. On July 28, the fire significantly increases in size and at the close of July 30, has more than doubled in size to 105,415 acres (42,660 ha), becoming amegafire.^[3][26] This three day advance burns through upper North Canyon, a refuge for Arizona's native fishApache trout,^[27] and at one point threatened the Kaibab Lodge.^[28][29][30]

August 1, 2025

A localizedRed flag warning was issued for the fires immediate area.^[31]

August 6, 2025

Besides the “developed area” including the historic North Rim Lodge, the following trails and areas had been burned:North Kaibab Trail down to Supai Tunnel; Both sides ofArizona State Route 67 (SR 67) from the Lodge to the park entrance gate;Both sides of theCape Royal Road from SR 67 north to Point Imperial, and south to Roosevelt Point;Transept Trail (entirety);Widforss Trail (entirety);Tiyo Point Trail (entirety); Point Sublime Road on both sides from SR 67 to the Kanabowits Road, excluding The Basin meadow; theKen Patrick Trail (entirety);Uncle Jim Loop Trail (entirety);Obi Point Trail;Old Bright Angel Trail; TheArizona Trail from theNorth Kaibab Trail trailhead to the north through the Park and beyond East Rim Viewpoint; A majority of theKaibab National Forest east of SR 67 to the east end of the plateau including Upper North Canyon Trail (entirety); Upper South Canyon Trail (entirety); Upper Saddle Mountain trailhead, and some of the Saddle Mountain Trail; The East Rim Viewpoint and the Marble Viewpoint.

August 8, 2025

AnotherRed flag warning day occurred August 8, 2025, and the fire expanded 7,097 acres (2,872 ha) to the northeast, southwest, and southeast. The southeast expansion burned three miles to the east off theWalhalla Plateau down into the Grand Canyon proper.

August 12, 2025

The fire burned to within a mile of theColorado River.^[32]

August 18, 2025

The fire passes the 145,000 acre mark or 227 square miles, an area equal to the size ofChicago, Illinois. At a community meeting held that evening inFredonia, Arizona, Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Ed Keable told the audience the fire was never a managed fire but was “a suppression fire from the beginning.” That statement didn't match Grand Canyon National Park's press releases about the fire's management under a confine and contain strategy during the first six days of the fire. Meeting attendees also learned that the North Rim Lodge concessionaireAramark's employees still had no date certain to return to the North Rim Developed Area housing to gather up their personal belongings and vehicles left when the area was evacuated July 11, 2025.^{[33][34][35][36]}

August 19, 2025

TwoBurned Area Emergency Response (BAER) Teams are ordered. The first is a two-agencyDepartment of the Interior team assessing the fire onNational Park Service andBureau of Land Management lands, while the second BAER team mobilized through theDepartment of Agriculture to assess the fire onUnited States Forest Service lands. BAER identification involves the creation of maps for vegetation burn severity and soils burn severity, allowing identification of values at risk including rare and endangered species andflash flood hazards, including prescribing and conducting treatments to mitigate impacts.^{[37][38][39][40]}

August 31, 2025

Fire suppression costs reached $100,000,000.^[41]

September 8, 2025

70-year-old J. Hank Hester ofPriest River, Idaho, a Firefighter/Equipment Operator, collapsed while performing suppression repair work at the Dragon Bravo Fire. Line paramedics performed CPR at the scene, but Hester could not be resuscitated. The suspected cause of death is a cardiovascular emergency.^[42][43]

The cause of the fire is believed to be due to lightning.^[2][44] Initially the fire was managed under a confine and contain strategy, which is intended to allow for the natural role of fire on the landscape while minimizing the risk to infrastructure and park values. Near record high temperatures, no precipitation, low fuel moistures and windy conditions all caused the fire to grow significantly in size.^[9][45]

On July 11, 2025, mandatory evacuation orders are issued for all North Rim residents.

On July 13, 2025, the North Rim ofGrand Canyon National Park is closed for the remainder of the 2025 season^{[2][101][102][103]} andArizona State Route 67 is closed due to the fire.^[104][105] Grand Canyon National Park closes theNorth andSouth Kaibab Trails as well as theBright Angel Trail (except for river trip exchanges at the mouth of Pipe Creek).Phantom Ranch is evacuated and closed.^[106]

On July 14, 2025,U.S. Route 89A is closed from Fredonia to Cliff Dwellers Lodge due to theWhite Sage Fire.^[107] Additional closures in Grand Canyon National Park include the River Trail between Pipe Creek and the Kaibab Trail, the Tonto Trail betweenHavasupai Gardens and Tippoff, and all backcoutry/canyoneering routes stemming from the North and South Kaibab or the Bright Angel trails.^[108]

On July 15, 2025, aTemporary Flight Restriction limits aircraft flights over the fire area to 13,000 feet (4,000 m) and higher.^[109][110]

On July 23, 2025, the entire North Kaibab Forest was closed.

On July 25, 2025, HighwayU.S. Route 89A was reopened, removing the closure betweenFredonia, Arizona and Cliff Dwellers Lodge.

On July 29, 2025, the fire swept off the high country and moved down the east Kaibabmonocline into theHouse Rock Valley managed by theBureau of Land Management. A closure was immediately imposed on the Valley.^[111]

On August 19, 2025, portions of theKaibab National Forest are reopened.^[112] The closure of theHouse Rock Valley was also rescinded.^[113]

On August 20, 2025, portions of Grand Canyon National Park trails reopened. This includes theSouth Kaibab Trail from the Trailhead to Tipoff, the Tonto Trail from Tipoff toHavasupai Gardens, and theBright Angel Trail from the Trailhead to Pipe Creek Resthouse.^[114]

On August 28, 2025,Arizona State Route 67 was opened from Jacob Lake to the Kaibab Lodge, located just north of the North Entrance station to Grand Canyon National Park.^[115]

On September 11, 2025, closures were lifted to another 96,000 acres (39,000 ha) of national forest lands on the North Kaibab Ranger District as the Forest Service further reduced the Dragon Bravo Fire Temporary Closure to lands within the burn area.^[116]

The Arizona delegation including GovernorKatie Hobbs, SenatorsMark Kelly andRuben Gallego, and CongressmanPaul Gosar called for an investigation into theNational Park Service handling of the fire. They criticized the federal government for initially managing the fire as a controlled burn.^[19][117]

Investigative reporters searched theGrand Canyon National Park Fire Management Plan^[118] and found that the plan has four criteria to allow a burn to proceed naturally. These criteria are temperature, humidity, wind speed, and wind gust. If these critical local thresholds are met, there is potential for a very bad fire.

Two days and five days after the fire was reported, these dangerous critical thresholds were approached. On July 10, three of the critical thresholds were exceeded; temperatures above 70 degrees, a humidity level below 15%, and wind gusts above 15 miles per hour, The fourth critical threshold, wind speed, was only two miles per hour short of meeting its target. On the 11th, the fire blew up. On the night of the 12th-13th, the entire North Rim Developed area burned, including the historic Lodge.^[119][120]

On Friday, August 22, 2025, banner headlines on the front page above the fold of Arizona's largest newspaper, theArizona Republic, readWARNINGS IGNORED. The article stated National Park Service "officials downplayed threats to public safety -- and decided to let the fire burn for seven days -- even as fuel and weather conditions repeatedly reached the brink of critical thresholds for fire risk."^[121]

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• List of Arizona wildfires

• Dragon Bravo Fire atInciWeb

• 2025 in Arizona
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• July 2025 in the United States
• Wildfires in Arizona
• Coconino County, Arizona
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