The Dragon Bravo Fire, which has burned since July 4 on the Grand Canyon’s North Rim, has become the largest wildfire in the continental United States in 2025.
The lightning-caused blaze has torched more than 111,970 acres of forest landscape as of August 1. Extreme fire weather ― characterized by low humidity, wind gusts and heat ― and rough terrain continued to challenge fire crews, which have achieved 9% containment.
The Dragon Bravo Fire also now stands as the 10th largest wildfire in Arizona since 1990, scorching an area more than three times the size of Phoenix, according to the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management. Numbers 9 and 8, the Willow and Bighorn fires, stand at 119,500 and 119,987, respectively.
Fire management reported the fire continued to push north, into the burn scar of the 2006 Warm Fire, according to the morning update for August. 1 posted on Inciweb, a federal wildfire tracker.
“Air resources worked to slow fire spread in that area. Night operations focused on holding containment lines near Forest Road 610 and progressing south toward State Route 67,” according to the update.
Firefighters got a slight reprieve as cloud coverage helped to moderate fire activity, the update stated.
Crews continued efforts to steer the fire away from protected areas in Grand Canyon National Park and Kaibab National Forest and to minimize the impacts to infrastructure, including the Kaibab Lodge, according to the update. Firefighters are also working to protect the park entrance station, and there are resources on the Walhalla Plateau to protect cultural sites.
Fire managers are maintaining a full suppression strategy on all fronts. Smoke will also continue to be visible to surrounding communities.
The North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will remain closed for the rest of the 2025 season. The Bureau of Land Management posted details about closures in the House Rock Valley. Also, Route 89A was reopened, but Grand Canyon Highway (state route 67) remained closed.
Kaibab Camper Village and the Jacob Lake Inn and gas station were open. However, the rest of the Kaibab National Forest, including the Jacob Lake Campground, was closed.
Among the structures burned, the Dragon Bravo Fire destroyed the historic Grand Canyon Lodge on the canyon’s North Rim on July 13. The lodge, which opened in 1937, was the only hotel located inside the national park at the North Rim.
The Tennessean reporter Brandi D. Addison and The Republic reporters Perry Vandell and Rey Covarrubias Jr. contributed to this article.