U.S. land managers are racing the clock as hotter, drier weather raises the risk of wildfires in the nation’s overgrown forests with each passing year.

The Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim was destroyed by the Dragon Bravo wildfire, which began with a lightning strike on July 4 and spread rapidly due to high winds.

“It's tragic, it really is,” retired National Park Service chief historian Robert K. Sutton said Monday.

The Dragon Bravo Fire is the largest to affect the park in recent years, surpassing the Gold Hill Fire in 2023.

Evacuations are underway near the Grand Canyon as the Dragon Bravo Fire explodes to nearly 6,000 acres, destroying more than 70 buildings, including the historic Grand Canyon Lodge.

The Dragon Bravo fire burns on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon as seen from the South Rim July 14, 2025.