Flagstaff, Arizona.-A historical shelter on the north edge of the Grand Canyon has been destroyed by a forest fire that moves quickly, the park said Sunday.
The Grand Canyon Lodge, the only accommodation inside the park on the northern edge, was consumed by the flames, the Ed Keable Park Superintendent told the residents of the park, the staff and others in a meeting on Sunday morning. He said that the Visitors Center, the Service Station, a wastewater treatment plant, an administrative building and some employee homes were between 50 to 80 lost structures.
Two forest fires are burning in or near the north edge, known as the white sage fire and the brave dragon fire. The latter is the one that impacted the Lodge and other structures. Initially, the park handled it as a controlled burn, but then changed to the suppression, since it quickly grew to 7.8 square miles (20 square kilometers) due to low moisture and wind temperatures, firefighters said.
The Sage White fire doubled its size on Sunday, growing from approximately 20,000 acres to 40,000, according to the government website that tracks US fires.
No injuries have been reported.
Millions of people visit the Grand Canyon National Park annually, and most go to the most popular South Rim. The North Rim is seasonally open. It was evacuated last Thursday due to a forest fire.
Firefighters at North Rim and hikers of the inner cannon were evacuated during the weekend. The park said that together with the risk of fire, they could be exposed to chlorine gas after the treatment plant burned. Chlorine gas is heavier than air and can cause blurred vision, irritation or respiratory problems if high amounts of it are breathed, according to centers for disease control and prevention.
They were also told the beams on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon to avoid Phantom Ranch, which has a set of cabins and bedrooms along the river.
The North Rim Lodge was often the first prominent characteristic that visitors see, even before seeing the cannon. A road ends in the shelter, which was known for its inclined roof, huge weights and huge limestone facade. When walking through the lobby and descending a staircase, visitors could get their first view of the Grand Canyon that shone through the windows through the “Sun Room”.
Meanwhile, the authorities reported progress in the fight against a second forest fire that burns north of the Grand Canyon. The lines of fire in the white sage fire that forced evacuations on the north edge and in the community of Lake Jacob were having, authorities said. On the southern edge of the fire, the hand crews and the excavators were working uphill, and the propagation of the fire had been minimal.
But to the east and north, the fire has extended rapidly, with pastures and dead trees standing that contribute to the intensity of the fire, authorities said. The fire was pushing down to the area of the vermilion cliffs, and the equipment was evaluating the opportunities to create damping areas that help stop or stop the progress of fire.
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