At nearly 145,000 acres, the Dragon Bravo Fire burning at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon is one of the largest wildfires in Arizona history.
And it’s also the first wildfire on record to have burned both in and outside the canyon’s basin.
While it’s always been possible for a wildfire to cross the surface-to-canyon boundary, it’s never before been seen.
Matthew Garcia, a public information officer with the Dragon Bravo Fire’s management team, says it’s a rare event. This is because the fire-loving fuel, like grasses and other vegetation, is sparse.
“But this particular fire we had a wind event day that was pretty extreme,” Garcia said. “I think we were getting gusts up to 50 mph that day, and that wind was able to push the fire past those areas of sparse fuel and was able to get further into the canyon.”
Garcia said drought conditions also compounded the issue.
As of Friday, the fire was more than halfway contained, though health officials say high levels of smoke are affecting surrounding areas, like parts of Page and Tuba City, where they are handing out free N-95 masks.
