BREAKING: Historic Grand Canyon Lodge on North Rim Destroyed by Wildfire

A fire that began as a controlled burn on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon has turned into one of the most devastating park infrastructure losses in years.

As of this morning, the Grand Canyon Lodge and nearly every other structure at the North Rim has been destroyed. That includes the historic visitor center, gas station, employee housing, and dozens of cabins. Even the wastewater treatment plant burned, triggering a chlorine gas release that forced an emergency evacuation of firefighters, inner canyon hikers, Phantom Ranch staff, and river rafters. No injuries have been reported. But the loss is staggering.

The lodge first opened in 1928. It burned in 1932 and was rebuilt five years later, using native stone and ponderosa pine, perched just feet from the edge of the canyon. It was one of the last remaining park lodges from the National Park Service rustic era. Nothing about it felt modern. That was the point.

For nearly a century, it offered something no other lodge in the park system could match - quiet. The South Rim gets all the crowds and the postcards. But the North Rim was where people went to disappear for a few days. To sit on the porch in the cold. To wake up and see the canyon glow gold at sunrise. To let the silence do its work.

The fire that destroyed it, known as the Dragon Bravo Fire, was started by lightning on July 4. It was supposed to be managed. Park officials had even labeled it a prescribed fire. But record heat, dry fuels, and high winds pushed it out of control. By the time it reached the lodge, it was too late.

Between 50 and 80 structures are gone. The North Rim is now closed for the rest of the 2025 season. Trails like North Kaibab and South Kaibab are shut down, and parts of the inner canyon remain closed due to air hazards from the chlorine leak. Even rafting routes have been diverted.

There is no official word yet on whether the lodge will be rebuilt.

What we lost this weekend is more than a building. It was one of the last great pieces of national park architecture that still felt like it belonged to the place. It wasn’t designed to stand out. It was designed to disappear into the cliffside, to frame the view rather than compete with it. In an age of luxury concessions and multimillion-dollar glamping contracts, the North Rim Lodge was a holdout.

And now it’s gone.

No spin. No silver lining. Just a loss. A real one.

We’ll keep you posted on what happens next. But tonight, a piece of the Grand Canyon is missing. And it deserves to be mourned.

I recall visiting it for the first and only time and couldn’t believe how beautifully done it was. A truly special place that deserves to be rebuilt. Brick by brick. Log by log. Stone by stone.

Share your north rim stories if you have them.

Until next time,

Will