Two wildfires continue to burn near the Grand Canyon; the White Sage Fire has burned nearly 53,000 acres and is 4% contained. The Dragon Bravo Fire has burned about 8,500 acres.

The Grand Canyon Lodge in far northern Arizona that was an elusive getaway for nearly a century has been destroyed by a wildfire.

The resulting Nankoweap landslide would have dumped enormous limestone boulders into the river corridor, creating a temporary dam and a lake whose surface may have reached 940 meters elevation before water overtopped and eroded the blockage, likely within 1,000 years.

A water treatment facility at the North Rim had been compromised by the fire, causing chlorine gas to fall towards the bottom of the canyon.

The fast-moving fire destroyed a historic lodge and dozens of other structures in the Grand Canyon National Park.

Wildfires can burn and spread differently depending on what vegetation they burn. The two fires in northern Arizona have varied landscapes. Ponderosa pine trees grow near the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and can live for hundreds of years.

The congressman is the latest lawmaker asking why the Dragon Bravo fire was not immediately extinguished when it was ignited by lightning on July 4.

The NWS warning was in effect for regions of the Grand Canyon below 4,000 feet elevation. Temperatures were forecast to potentially reach 110 degrees at Phantom Ranch and 102 at Havasupai Gardens.