Nearly two months after the Dragon Bravo Fire ignited on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, firefighters are pivoting to repair and clean-up operations.
Darren McMillin is the fire information officer for the Dragon Bravo Fire. He says containment is now up to 80%. That’s good news for fire crews who struggled to keep up with this blaze, which started after a lightning strike on July 4. He says there are 689 personnel at the North Rim.
“The majority of those crews are out repairing dozer roads that were put in, dozer lines, removing hazard trees. So, it's really putting the forest back to that pre-fire state is the number one priority right now.”
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The Dragon Bravo Fire burning along Highway 67 near the Grand Canyon on Aug. 1, 2025.
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Night operations on the Dragon Bravo Fire at the Grand Canyon's North Rim on Aug. 3, 2025.
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The Dragon Bravo Fire at the Grand Canyon seen at night with the Milky Way on July 28, 2025.
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The Dragon Bravo Fire on Thursday, July 31, 2025.
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A plume of smoke from the Dragon Bravo Fire near the Grand Canyon on Tuesday, July 29, 2025.
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Smoke from the Dragon Bravo Fire in the Kaibab National Forest on July 28, 2025.
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The Dragon Bravo Fire near the Grand Canyon on July 23, 2025.
Lisa Jennings/Southwest Area Complex Incident Management Team
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A firefighter mops up a fallen tree on the White Sage Fire in northern Arizona on Wednesday, July 23, 2025.
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The Grand Canyon Lodge on July 18, 2025. It was destroyed by the Dragon Bravo Fire earlier in the month.
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Crews fight the White Sage Fire in northern Arizona on Monday, July 21, 2025.
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The Grand Canyon Lodge on July 18, 2025. It was destroyed by the Dragon Bravo Fire earlier in the month.
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The Grand Canyon Lodge on July 18, 2025. It was destroyed by the Dragon Bravo Fire earlier in the month.
Matt Jenkins/National Park Service
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A firefighter works against the White Sage Wildfire in northern Arizona on Sunday, July 20, 2025.
White Sage Fire Information Team
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A rainbow over the White Sage Fire in northern Arizona on Friday, July 18, 2025.
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A firefighter stands near smoldering debris and active flames amid the charred remains of a burned structure near the Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim on Sunday, July 13, 2025.
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Crews battle the White Sage Fire in northern Arizona on July 13, 2025.
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A smoke plume rises over the Grand Canyon on July 11, 2025.
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College students who worked at the Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim perform a "sing-away" for departing guests.
Grand Canyon National Park Museum Collection
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The Grand Canyon Lodge in 2017.
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The Grand Canyon Lodge in 2019.
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The Grand Canyon Lodge in 2019.
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The Grand Canyon Lodge in 2019.
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The Grand Canyon Lodge in 2019.
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The Grand Canyon Lodge in 2019.
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The Grand Canyon Lodge in 2019.
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The Grand Canyon Lodge was built in 1936-37, according to the National Park Service.
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The Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, pictured here in May 2008.
Michael Quinn/U.S. National Park Service
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Fire crews battle the White Sage Fire about 15 miles southwest of Fredonia, Arizona.
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Fire crews battle the White Sage Fire about 15 miles southwest of Fredonia, Arizona.
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Fire crews battle the White Sage Fire about 15 miles southwest of Fredonia, Arizona.
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Crews battled the White Sage Fire in northern Arizona on Friday, July 11, 2025.
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The White Sage Fire burning near the Grand Canyon on Thursday, July 10, 2025.
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Crews fight the White Sage Fire in northern Arizona on Wednesday, July 16, 2025.
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Crews work to contain the White Sage Fire in northern Arizona on Saturday, July 19, 2025.
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Crews focused on suppression repair spread seeds to help minimize erosion — which can hinder regrowth and water absorption — in the area burned by the White Sage Fire.
Sean Mcnearney/White Sage Fire
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The Rio Grande Hand Crew fighting the Dragon Bravo Fire near the Grand Canyon on July 31, 2025.
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Dozer lines are created by removing soil and flammable vegetation. The repair and clean up stage could take several weeks due to the size of the Fire, which burned more than 145,000 acres.
“If this was in a more rural area without the road systems and, and obviously a national park where we have a lot of visitors, we wouldn't have all these roads to repair and hazard trees removed so the public can come back in,” he says.
As far as wildlife, McMillin says crews have seen the Kaibab squirrel, which is native to the area, around camp, as well as deer and foxes.
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