The Grand Canyon Lodge was the park's one and only hotel, according the National Park Service, with the next nearest lodgings roughly 18 miles away.

What fueled the explosive growth of the Dragon Bravo Fire was a mix of gusty winds, dry air and above-normal heat – weather conditions experts described as atypical for this time of year, when monsoonal moisture typically tamps down wildfire risk across Arizona.

Gov. Katie Hobbs questioned why the U.S. government decided to manage the Dragon Bravo fire, which started with a lightning strike, as a “controlled burn” during the height of the summer.

A wildfire sparked by lightning on July 4 has now spread at the Grand Canyon, consuming both the Natinonal Park Services’ visitors’ hub and the historic Grand Canyon Lodge on the park’s Northern Rim.

The lightning-sparked South Rim fire in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park has burned 3,556 acres with no containment and mandatory evacuations remain in place.

The Grand Canyon National Park is also under an extreme heat warning through the weekend, with temperatures expected to reach 115 degrees in low elevations.

A wildfire is rapidly spreading near the Grand Canyon, and has grown more than ten times in size over the last 24 hours. The White Sage Fire is located around 250 miles southwest of Denver, Colorado and has grown from 1,