JACOB LAKE, Arizona — Weather and fuels continue to conspire against firefighters battling the Dragon Bravo Fire on the Grand Canyon's North Rim, with no rain in sight, winds gusting above 30 mph, and fuels drier than "kiln-dried lumber."
While the nearly 1,200 firefighters were able to slightly increase containment on the blaze from 4 percent Wednesday morning to 9 percent Thursday morning, challenges they faced to make more progress included wind gusts expected to reach 35 mph, no precipitation in the forecast, and relative humidity very low at 8-12 percent.
Sparked by a lightning bolt on July 4, the fire took off under windy conditions a week later, galloping through Grand Canyon National Park's visitor facilities on the rim, consuming along the way the historic Grand Canyon Lodge and dozens of historic log guest cabins and more recent concessionaire and National Park Service facilities.
As of Thursday morning, the fire's footprint stood at 105,415 acres, possibly making it the country's largest wildfire. The Cram Fire in Oregon was measured on Wednesday at 95,736 acres; where it stood Thursday was not immediately reported by the Inciweb site that tracks the nation's wildfires.
"In the north, where the [Dragon Bravo] fire is most active, crews continued to prep Forest Road 213 to the point where it drops off the plateau. Beyond that point, aircraft dropped retardant to reinforce a ridgeline to tie into the road system on more favorable ground," the morning report said.
Among the tasks firefighters were given was protecting cultural resources on the Walhalla Plateau inside the national park, where ancient ruins nearly 1,000 years old hold stories of Indigenous occupation of the rim.
The fire has prompted the Park Service to close the North Rim to visitors for the rest of the year. Indefinite closures were in place for the South Kaibab Trail, Phantom Ranch, and North Kaibab Trail.
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