Wildfire Devastates Businesses in Grand Canyon Area

Businesses that rely on the summer season are facing financial difficulties as a result of the disastrous wildfire that destroyed the historic Grand Canyon Lodge and numerous other buildings, forcing them to close three months early.

More than 11,000 acres have been destroyed around the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park as a result of the Dragon Bravo Fire, which started on July 4 after a lightning strike and expanded quickly due to strong winds.

The visitor center, park personnel housing, and tourist cabins are among the more than 100 buildings that have been damaged or completely destroyed.

A family-owned business that has been running mule trips for more than 40 years, Canyon Trail Rides, lost its reservation desk on July 12 when the historic lodge burned down.

The business had to return around $100,000 in prepaid reservations, owner Crystal Mortensen said.

"That's almost 90 days of reservations from July 12 through Oct. 15," Mortensen said. The tourist season typically runs from May 15 through October 15, but ended abruptly on the North Rim due to the fire damage.

The effects on the economy go beyond lost income and include job loss. At the North Rim facility, Canyon Trail Rides employed 12 to 14 people, the most of whom are currently unemployed.

The Mortensen family, who also run mule rides in Utah's Bryce Canyon and Zion national parks, was able to move some employees but was unable to keep all of their jobs.

"Then you have the impact of our employees that are without a job out there," Mortensen said. "We have tried to relocate and move a good portion of those to the other parks — to Bryce and to Zion — but there are some that we weren't able to keep on."

The 53 mules owned by the business avoided the terrible experience when employees let the animals roam freely as the fire grew closer on July 11. Two days later, when workers returned, most of the mules had stayed close to their barn so they could get food and water.

"They are our biggest asset. We are very attached to them," Mortensen said. "They were pretty much on their own out there for Friday evening and all day Saturday until we got back out there on Sunday morning. If the fire would have got up into that area they would have had to flee, and we would have had a harder time finding them that next morning. We were relieved that they were all still right there."

Park officials have announced that the North Rim will stay closed for the rest of the 2025 season. Permanent closures of inner canyon trails and campers further restrict visitor access and local businesses' ability to make money.

On July 19, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs took a Blackhawk helicopter from the Arizona National Guard to the fire area to take a look at the damage. About 700 firefighters were stationed at De Motte Campground, which is about 25 miles north of the rim where Governor Katie Hobbs landed.

"It's so devastating," Hobbs said after viewing the burned landscape. "As a lifelong Arizonan, it just is a reminder of the shared stewardship we have of this land of this iconic treasure of the Grand Canyon."

During Hobbs' visit to the fire camp, Southwest Area Incident Management Team member Manny Cordova updated Hobbs on the firefighting operation's tactics.

"Really the heavy lift and heavy workload is for the folks on the fire line," Cordova told Governor Hobbs during the tour. "This is all designed to support them."

One of the most disastrous fires in recent Grand Canyon National Park history, the Dragon Bravo Fire destroyed not just wilderness areas but also vital tourism infrastructure that has allowed visitors to enjoy one of America's most famous landscapes for generations. Arizona is fighting to help protect the people affected by this tragedy.