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July 16, 2025 - Destructive Wildfires on Grand Canyon's North Rim
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Lightning ignited two wildland fires on the Colorado Plateau near the Grand Canyon in July 2025 that grew to become large and disruptive. The blazes led to the closure of the Grand Canyon’s North Rim, the destruction of dozens of structures, and staff and visitor evacuations from Grand Canyon National Park.
The MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this true-color image of smoke spreading from the fires on July 14. The southernmost blaze, which is located closer to the Grand Canyon is the Dragon Bravo fire. Smoke billowing in the north comes from the White Sage Fire.
The Dragon Bravo Fire ignited on July 4. Initial management focused on confine and containment strategies and included multiple containment features to protect structures, facilities, and infrastructure, according to reporting by InciWeb Incident Information System. On July 11, extreme heat and strong northwest wind gusts of up to 40 miles per hour (60 km/h) pushed the fire into active growth. According to the National Park Service, the fire destroyed a water treatment facility on the North Rim, which released chlorine gas and hampered firefighting efforts. Other structures lost to the fire included a visitor center, gas station, park service employee housing, and the Grand Canyon Lodge. The historic lodge, built in 1928, was the only lodging available to visitors inside the park on the North Rim. On July 15, the Drago Bravo Fire had burned 8,570 acres and, despite the best efforts of 366 firefighting personnel, was listed as zero percent contained.
Authorities first received reports of smoke from a second fire about 35 miles (55 kilometers) north of the Dragon Bravo fire on July 9. NASA satellites began to detect a fire early on July 10, and the White Sage fire spread rapidly over the next three days in hot, dry, and windy conditions. Standing dead trees left after the 2020 Magnum fire contributed to the blaze’s rapid spread, according to firefighting and forest management teams in the region. By July 15, the fire had charred 51,992 acres, according to InciWeb, and was zero percent contained. Coconino County issued evacuation orders for communities along State Route 67 between the North Rim and Jacob Lake on July 14 and those evacuations remained in place on July 15.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 7/14/2025
Resolutions:
1km (223.4 KB), 500m (641.8 KB), 250m (1.4 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Lightning ignited two wildland fires on the Colorado Plateau near the Grand Canyon in July 2025 that grew to become large and disruptive. The blazes led to the closure of the Grand Canyon’s North Rim, the destruction of dozens of structures, and staff and visitor evacuations from Grand Canyon National Park.
The MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this true-color image of smoke spreading from the fires on July 14. The southernmost blaze, which is located closer to the Grand Canyon is the Dragon Bravo fire. Smoke billowing in the north comes from the White Sage Fire.
The Dragon Bravo Fire ignited on July 4. Initial management focused on confine and containment strategies and included multiple containment features to protect structures, facilities, and infrastructure, according to reporting by InciWeb Incident Information System. On July 11, extreme heat and strong northwest wind gusts of up to 40 miles per hour (60 km/h) pushed the fire into active growth. According to the National Park Service, the fire destroyed a water treatment facility on the North Rim, which released chlorine gas and hampered firefighting efforts. Other structures lost to the fire included a visitor center, gas station, park service employee housing, and the Grand Canyon Lodge. The historic lodge, built in 1928, was the only lodging available to visitors inside the park on the North Rim. On July 15, the Drago Bravo Fire had burned 8,570 acres and, despite the best efforts of 366 firefighting personnel, was listed as zero percent contained.
Authorities first received reports of smoke from a second fire about 35 miles (55 kilometers) north of the Dragon Bravo fire on July 9. NASA satellites began to detect a fire early on July 10, and the White Sage fire spread rapidly over the next three days in hot, dry, and windy conditions. Standing dead trees left after the 2020 Magnum fire contributed to the blaze’s rapid spread, according to firefighting and forest management teams in the region. By July 15, the fire had charred 51,992 acres, according to InciWeb, and was zero percent contained. Coconino County issued evacuation orders for communities along State Route 67 between the North Rim and Jacob Lake on July 14 and those evacuations remained in place on July 15.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 7/14/2025
Resolutions:
1km (223.4 KB), 500m (641.8 KB), 250m (1.4 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
