{"id":169822,"date":"2025-07-21T13:56:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T18:56:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=169822"},"modified":"2025-07-21T14:00:39","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T19:00:39","slug":"cronkite-news-fires-cause-problems-for-grand-canyons-tourist-economy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2025\/07\/21\/cronkite-news-fires-cause-problems-for-grand-canyons-tourist-economy\/","title":{"rendered":"Cronkite News: Fires cause problems for Grand Canyon’s tourist economy"},"content":{"rendered":" \"Grand<\/a>
A smoke plume rises over the Grand Canyon in Arizona on July 11, 2025. Photo by M. Quinn \/ National Park Service<\/figcaption>\r\n
Northern Arizona wildfires hurt tourism economy of Grand Canyon area<\/div>\r\n
Monday, July 21, 2025<\/div>\r\n
By Tony Guti\u00e9rrez<\/div>\r\n
Cronkite News<\/DIV>\r\n
cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A><\/DIV>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nPHOENIX — 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.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nCanyon Trail Rides, which organizes mule rides through the Grand Canyon, had to refund approximately $100,000 for prepaid reservations.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nThe reservation desk for Canyon Trail Rides was located inside the historic Grand Canyon Lodge<\/a> that burned to the ground July 12, when the Dragon Bravo Fire tore through the national park.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nThe 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.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nThe Dragon Bravo Fire<\/a>, 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.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cThat\u2019s almost 90 days of reservations from July 12 through October 15,\u201d said Crystal Mortensen, whose family owns Canyon Trail Rides, which also organizes mule rides in Bryce Canyon National Park<\/a> and Zion National Park<\/a> in Utah.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cThen 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 \u2014 to Bryce and to Zion \u2014 but there are some that we weren\u2019t able to keep on.\u201d\r\n

<\/P>\r\n

\"White<\/a><\/div>\r\n
Firefighters at the White Sage Fire north of the Grand Canyon in Arizona on July 14, 2025. Photo by National Park Service<\/figcaption><\/div><\/div>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nAll 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.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cThey are our biggest asset. We are very attached to them,\u201d said Mortensen, whose family has run the business for more than 40 years. \u201cThey were pretty much on their own out there for Friday evening and all day Saturday until we got back out there on Sunday morning.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cIf 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.\u201d\r\n

<\/P>\r\nSen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., referred to the tourism industry as the \u201ceconomic bloodline\u201d 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.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nThe canyon\u2019s South Rim remains open.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cFor these small businesses, and when they no longer have the tourism that goes there or the infrastructure around it, they\u2019re going to lose business,\u201d Gallego told reporters on a call Thursday morning.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nFire 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.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n \"White<\/a>

A firefighter at the White Sage Fire north of the Grand Canyon in Arizona on July 13, 2025. Photo from Rocky Mountain Fire Control by Ethan Deaner via National Park Service<\/figcaption>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nThe 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<\/a>. Through Thursday, the Dragon Bravo Fire wasn\u2019t contained at all, according to the National Park Service<\/a>.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nXanterra, 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.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cThe main thing that we\u2019re hearing is just how sad and unfortunate of a loss it is of these legacy buildings,\u201d said Andrew Heltzel, chief commercial officer for Xanterra. \u201cThe Grand Canyon Lodge was built in the late 1920s. It\u2019s 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\u2019t be shared with future generations.\u201d\r\n

<\/P>\r\nFor 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.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cWe will definitely help however we can but I think that step number one \u2014 really what everyone is focused on \u2014 is getting the fire out right now,\u201d Heltzel said.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nFor more stories from Cronkite News, visit cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A>.<\/STRONG>\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

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