Acres: 145,504 Containment: 80%
Personnel: 683
Start Date: July 4, 2025
Cause: Lightning Location: Grand Canyon North Rim

All fire restrictions on the Kaibab National Forest have been lifted and Grand Canyon National Park has returned to Stage 1 restrictions.

Current Situation: Yesterday’s cool temperatures, cloud cover, and light rain allowed crews to continue making excellent progress on their current goals of repairing damaged roads, restoring areas impacted by firefighting operations, eliminating fire-weakened trees, and ensuring the fire does not spread beyond its current boundaries.

Field personnel have been divided into three divisions: North Repair, South Repair, and Fire Suppression/Patrol.

In the North Division, crews continued removing hazardous trees that were blocking or threatening safe travel along the roadways. Specifically, they focused on the area near the park entrance on Highway 67, road systems east of Highway 67, and Road 611. This difficult work is being done section-by-section to maximize both safety and efficiency. After the hazard trees in each section are cut, the larger trees are limbed and stacked along the roadside, then loaded onto large hauling trucks and transported to staging areas outside the fire area. On average, up to 30 truckloads of downed hazard trees are being hauled out of the fire area each day. Meanwhile, smaller trees, branches and other slash materials are being chipped.

In the South Division, crews have nearly completed the monumental task of clearing the entire length of Highway 67 within Grand Canyon National Park. The downed logs have been decked alongside the road and are now being hauled away by a steady flow of trucks. Heavy machinery previously dedicated to that task has been moved further east to Cape Royal Road, where a similar process is now underway. To keep up with the steady progress of these tree-clearing crews, incident management has ordered more tree loaders and log trucks. These additional resources will help move these materials from the sides of Forest and Park roads to approved staging areas more quickly, improving safety and keeping traffic flowing smoothly through work areas. Additionally, on the western border of the fire area, road repair crews began to grade the length of the W-4 road, smoothing its surface for its eventual return to public use.

The third group, assigned to Fire Suppression and Patrol, continued its mission to prevent any remaining fire from extending beyond the fire’s current footprint, and to extinguish any hotspots found by patrols or repair crews. Today, these firefighters will continue performing this critical role, remaining vigilant as thunderstorms move across the area. They are supported by two type 3 helicopters: one stationed in Kanab, and one flying out of the South Rim.

Weather: Monsoon conditions arrived Wednesday evening and scattered rainstorms moved slowly over the fire area throughout the evening. Similar weather is expected to continue through Saturday, with widespread showers and possible thunderstorms moving across the fire footprint. While these wet conditions may slow road repairs and tree clearing efforts, the rain and high humidity will minimize fire activity by soaking all but the heaviest fuels in the area, making it difficult for flames to spread. Although these storms bring an increased chance of lightning to the area, the heavy moisture makes it less likely that new fires will start or that any existing hotspots will grow. Drier conditions are expected to return early next week.

The North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will remain closed for the duration of the 2025 season.