"Though it was definitely not your average vacation trip, everything worked out okay. We made the best of it," Russ Christian said.

The visitor center and a wastewater treatment plant were among the 50 to 80 structures lost, the park superintendent said. The area was evacuated Thursday.

A wildfire has forced the Grand Canyon National Park’s North Rim to close for the rest of the 2025 season and destroyed the lodge located in the park, a historic landmark, the National Park Service said.

As of Monday, the Dragon Bravo fire on the North Rim had consumed more than 5,700 acres and was not contained, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

A Grand Canyon water treatment facility located at the North Rim caught fire on Saturday, causing chlorine gas to be released into the air. Multiple closures are being enforced due to the incident.

The Dragon Bravo wildfire in Arizona grew rapidly over the past weekend, destroying the historic Grand Canyon Lodge and dozens of other structures along the canyon’s North Rim.