PHOENIX — With wildfires raging across Northern Arizona and destroying more than 100 structures in Grand Canyon National Park, businesses relying on tourist revenue have taken a hit.

Canyon Trail Rides, which organizes mule rides through the Grand Canyon, had to refund approximately $100,000 for prepaid reservations.

The reservation desk for Canyon Trail Rides was located inside the historic Grand Canyon Lodge that burned to the ground July 12, when the Dragon Bravo Fire tore through the national park.

The tourist season typically runs May 15 through October 15 but ended early on the North Rim, where the lodge, tourist cabins and park staff housing have been damaged or destroyed.

The Dragon Bravo Fire, which started after a lightning strike on July 4 and spread quickly because of high winds, has burned over 11,000 acres along the North Rim, according to data from the National Interagency Fire Center.

“That’s almost 90 days of reservations from July 12 through October 15,” said Crystal Mortensen, whose family owns Canyon Trail Rides, which also organizes mule rides in Bryce Canyon National Park and Zion National Park in Utah.

“Then you have the impact of our employees that are without a job out there. We had about 12 to 14 employees. We have tried to relocate and move a good portion of those to the other parks — to Bryce and to Zion — but there are some that we weren’t able to keep on.”

All 53 mules from the North Rim are safe, she said. Staff members opened the gates for the animals on the evening of July 11, and returned to retrieve them two days later. Most of the mules remained near the barn where they could access food and water.

“They are our biggest asset. We are very attached to them,” said Mortensen, whose family has run the business for more than 40 years. “They were pretty much on their own out there for Friday evening and all day Saturday until we got back out there on Sunday morning.

“If the fire would have got up into that area they would have had to flee, and we would have had a harder time finding them that next morning. We were relieved that they were all still right there.”

Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., referred to the tourism industry as the “economic bloodline” of the area, and said he hopes to get homeowners and businesses some relief in the form of grants or low-interest loans. The North Rim will remain closed for the rest of the 2025 season, according to officials, while inner canyon trails and campgrounds are closed until further notice.

The canyon’s South Rim remains open.

“For these small businesses, and when they no longer have the tourism that goes there or the infrastructure around it, they’re going to lose business,” Gallego told reporters on a call Thursday morning.

Fire crews, aided by improved weather conditions, continued to protect structures and national park areas Thursday from the Dragon Bravo Fire along the North Rim and from another fire to the north on the Kaibab Plateau.

The White Sage Fire, sparked by lightning on July 9, has scorched more than 58,600 acres and was only 9% contained, according to the Bureau of Land Management. Through Thursday, the Dragon Bravo Fire wasn’t contained at all, according to the National Park Service.

Xanterra, a park and resort management company, has been helping to relocate guests and tourism partners from the North Rim. The company organizes mule rides from the South Rim but has temporarily paused excursions.

“The main thing that we’re hearing is just how sad and unfortunate of a loss it is of these legacy buildings,” said Andrew Heltzel, chief commercial officer for Xanterra. “The Grand Canyon Lodge was built in the late 1920s. It’s served a lot of guests and a lot of memories have been made there over generations, and I think a lot of travelers are really sad now that that experience can’t be shared with future generations.”

For decades, the Grand Canyon Lodge provided the only lodging inside the North Rim. Rebuilt after a fire in 1932, the facility consisted of a main building and 114 standalone cabins. From its elevation at 8,000 feet, it overlooked the majestic canyon.

“We will definitely help however we can but I think that step number one — really what everyone is focused on — is getting the fire out right now,” Heltzel said.

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Note: This story originally appeared on Cronkite News. It is published via a Creative Commons license. Cronkite News is produced by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.

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