A wildfire that destroyed historic Grand Canyon Lodge spread after being allowed to burn for days

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. (AP) — A wildfire that tore through a historic Grand Canyon lodge and raged out of control Monday had been allowed to burn for days before erupting over the weekend, raising scrutiny over the National Park Service’s decision not to aggressively attack the fire right away.

The wildfire along the canyon's more isolated North Rim, where most visitors don't venture, was burning quickly with no containment, fire officials said. No injuries had been reported, but more than 70 structures were lost, including a visitors center and several cabins.

At first, the fire didn’t raise alarms after igniting from a lightning strike on July 4. Four days later, the Park Service said the fire was being allowed to burn to benefit the land and fire crews were keeping close watch.

“There are no threats to infrastructure or public safety at this time,” the park said on Facebook.

Then three days later, on Friday, fire officials and the park service sent out warnings to “evacuate immediately” as the fire grew by nearly eight times within a day to more than 1.4 square miles (3.6 square kilometers).

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs called for a federal investigation into the park service’s handling of the fire.

“The federal government chose to manage that fire as a controlled burn during the driest, hottest part of the Arizona summer," the governor said in a social media post Sunday.

She will be meeting with leadership in the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Department of the Interior soon to learn more about the decisions made in managing the wildfire, Hobbs' spokesperson Christian Slater said in an email.

Authorities first used a “confine and contain” strategy but shifted to aggressive suppression as the fire — one of two that firefighters are dealing with on the North Rim — rapidly grew because of hot temperatures, low humidity and strong wind gusts, fire officials said.

The Associated Press left phone and email messages Monday with a park service spokesperson seeking comment about how the fire was managed.

The fire destroyed the Grand Canyon Lodge, the only lodging inside the park’s North Rim, along with employee housing and a wastewater treatment plant, park Superintendent Ed Keable said Sunday.

Park officials have closed access for the rest of the year to the North Rim, a less popular area that draws only about 10% of the Grand Canyon’s millions of annual visitors.

Hikers in the area were evacuated and rafters on the Colorado River, which snakes through the canyon, were told to bypass Phantom Ranch, an outpost of cabins and dormitories. Trails to the area from the canyon’s North and South rims also were closed.

From the air, plumes of black smoke could be seen rising above the canyon walls and haze filled parts of the park. From the park’s South Rim, visitors took pictures on Monday of the smoke blanketing the canyon in the distance.

The fire flared up Saturday night, fueled by high winds. Firefighters managed to make progress, using aerial fire retardant drops near the lodge before they had to pull back because of a chlorine gas leak at the water treatment plant, the park service said.

Hikers also were evacuated over concern that the poisonous, heavier-than-air gas could sink downhill, into the canyon.

U.S. Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego sent a letter Monday to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum asking among other things how the administration planned to track wildfire decision-making under a recent executive order to consolidate federal firefighting forces into a single program.

Across the West, about three dozen fires were burning uncontained and another 80 fires were being managed to clear out vegetation that has clogged the landscape, according to the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho.

So far this year, nearly 2.5 million acres (1 million hectares) have burned. That’s slightly below the 10-year average, the center said Monday.

A wildfire burning in southwestern Colorado closed Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and forced evacuations nearby. It had burned about 5.7 square miles (14.8 square kilometers) as of Monday. The fire was started by lightning Thursday on the park's south rim, a dramatic, deep gorge carved by the Gunnison River.

Fire officials said the brush and trees were very dry and there was only a minimal chance for rain in the coming days. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis issued a disaster declaration because of the fire and others in western Colorado.

Along the Grand Canyon's North Rim, the Dragon Bravo Fire that destroyed the lodge and other buildings spread to nearly 9 square miles (23 square kilometers) Monday.

The White Sage Fire also grew significantly over the past day, now having charred 77 square miles (199 square kilometers) of terrain with no containment. Officials reported progress in battling the fire.

The fires came three years after two errant prescribed fires conducted by the U.S. Forest Service sparked the Hermit’s Peak-Calf Canyon Fire, which burned more than 530 square miles (1,373 square kilometers) of the Rocky Mountain foothills and destroyed hundreds of homes.

The Grand Canyon Lodge, known for its huge ponderosa beams, massive limestone facade and a bronze statue of a donkey named “Brighty the Burro,” was perched on the edge of the North Rim and offered sweeping views of the canyon.

“It was like you’re looking at this movie all the time,” said Erik Ammerlann, who lived in Arizona for most of his adult life and stayed at the lodge nearly 10 years ago. “You’re really just one with nature.”

Caren Carney was staying there last week with her husband, parents and 12-year-old son when a park ranger knocked on their door Thursday and told them to evacuate.

She was heartbroken Sunday to hear that such a “magical place” had burned down. After evacuating, the family from Georgia went to the South Rim and could see the blaze across the canyon.

“I’m so glad we got to have one final look at it in the present before it was lost,” Carney said.

Aramark, the company that operated the lodge, said all employees and guests were safely evacuated.

An original lodge burned down from a kitchen fire in 1932, four years after construction was completed, according to the Grand Canyon Historical Society. The redesigned lodge using the original stonework opened in 1937.

Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press reporters Felicia Fonseca in Flagstaff, Arizona; Jaimie Ding in Los Angeles; Mead Gruver in Cheyenne, Wyoming; Christopher Keller and Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Colleen Slevin in Denver; and Safiyah Riddle in Montgomery, Alabama, contributed to this report.

Smoke from the Dragon Bravo Fire moves over the Grand Canyon from the North Rim, Monday, July 14, 2025, in Grand Canyon National Park, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Smoke from the Dragon Bravo Fire moves over the Grand Canyon from the North Rim, Monday, July 14, 2025, in Grand Canyon National Park, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

The inside of the historic Grand Canyon Lodge on the Grand Canyon's North Rim in Arizona is seen on July 12, 2021. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

The historic Grand Canyon Lodge on the Grand Canyon's North Rim in Arizona is seen on July 12, 2021. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

This undated photo provided by the National Park Service shows Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim of Grand Canyon, Ariz. (Michael Quinn/National Park Service via AP)

This photo provided by National Park Service shows the charred remains of a building at the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, in northern Arizona, on Sunday, July 13, 2025. (National Park Service via AP)

This photo provided by National Park Service shows the charred remains of a building at the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, in northern Arizona, on Sunday, July 13, 2025. (National Park Service via AP)

Smoke from the Dragon Bravo Fire moves over the Grand Canyon from the North Rim, Monday, July 14, 2025, in Grand Canyon National Park, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Smoke from the Dragon Bravo Fire moves over the Grand Canyon from the North Rim, Monday, July 14, 2025, in Grand Canyon National Park, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Smoke from the Dragon Bravo Fire moves over the Grand Canyon from the North Rim, Monday, July 14, 2025, in Grand Canyon National Park, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

The inside of the historic Grand Canyon Lodge on the Grand Canyon's North Rim in Arizona is seen on July 12, 2021. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

The historic Grand Canyon Lodge on the Grand Canyon's North Rim in Arizona is seen on July 12, 2021. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

This undated photo provided by the National Park Service shows Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim of Grand Canyon, Ariz. (Michael Quinn/National Park Service via AP)

This photo provided by National Park Service shows the charred remains of a building at the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, in northern Arizona, on Sunday, July 13, 2025. (National Park Service via AP)

This photo provided by National Park Service shows the charred remains of a building at the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, in northern Arizona, on Sunday, July 13, 2025. (National Park Service via AP)

Wildfire smoke that traveled into Page, Arizona, obscures the view of Vermillion Cliffs in the distance on Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Bob Hembree)

The setting sun peeks through the smoke from the Dragon Bravo Fire as it moves over the Grand Canyon from the North Rim as two tourists take in the scene from a South Rim overlook Monday, July 14, 2025, in Grand Canyon National Park, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Smoke from the Dragon Bravo Fire moves over the Grand Canyon from the North Rim, Monday, July 14, 2025, in Grand Canyon National Park, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Smoke from the Dragon Bravo Fire moves over the Grand Canyon from the North Rim, Monday, July 14, 2025, in Grand Canyon National Park, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Smoke from the Dragon Bravo Fire moves over the Grand Canyon from the North Rim, Monday, July 14, 2025, in Grand Canyon National Park, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

The inside of the historic Grand Canyon Lodge on the Grand Canyon's North Rim in Arizona is seen on July 12, 2021. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

The historic Grand Canyon Lodge on the Grand Canyon's North Rim in Arizona is seen on July 12, 2021. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

This undated photo provided by the National Park Service shows Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim of Grand Canyon, Ariz. (Michael Quinn/National Park Service via AP)

This photo provided by National Park Service shows the charred remains of a building at the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, in northern Arizona, on Sunday, July 13, 2025. (National Park Service via AP)

This photo provided by National Park Service shows the charred remains of a building at the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, in northern Arizona, on Sunday, July 13, 2025. (National Park Service via AP)

Smoke from the Dragon Bravo Fire moves over the Grand Canyon from the North Rim Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Grand Canyon National Park, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

A tourist takes in the morning sunrise from the South Rim as smoke from the Dragon Bravo Fire moves over the Grand Canyon from the North Rim Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Grand Canyon National Park, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Smoke from the Dragon Bravo Fire moves over the Grand Canyon from the North Rim Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Grand Canyon National Park, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Smoke from the Dragon Bravo Fire moves down the Grand Canyon from the North Rim Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Grand Canyon National Park, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

A tourist watches from a South Rim overlook as the early morning smoke from the Dragon Bravo Fire moves over the Grand Canyon from the North Rim Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Grand Canyon National Park, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Smoke from the Dragon Bravo Fire moves across the Grand Canyon from the North Rim Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Grand Canyon National Park, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Wildfire smoke that traveled into Page, Arizona, obscures the view of Vermillion Cliffs in the distance on Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Bob Hembree)

The setting sun peeks through the smoke from the Dragon Bravo Fire as it moves over the Grand Canyon from the North Rim as two tourists take in the scene from a South Rim overlook Monday, July 14, 2025, in Grand Canyon National Park, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Smoke from the Dragon Bravo Fire moves over the Grand Canyon from the North Rim, Monday, July 14, 2025, in Grand Canyon National Park, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Smoke from the Dragon Bravo Fire moves over the Grand Canyon from the North Rim, Monday, July 14, 2025, in Grand Canyon National Park, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Smoke from the Dragon Bravo Fire moves over the Grand Canyon from the North Rim, Monday, July 14, 2025, in Grand Canyon National Park, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

The inside of the historic Grand Canyon Lodge on the Grand Canyon's North Rim in Arizona is seen on July 12, 2021. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

The historic Grand Canyon Lodge on the Grand Canyon's North Rim in Arizona is seen on July 12, 2021. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

This undated photo provided by the National Park Service shows Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim of Grand Canyon, Ariz. (Michael Quinn/National Park Service via AP)

This photo provided by National Park Service shows the charred remains of a building at the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, in northern Arizona, on Sunday, July 13, 2025. (National Park Service via AP)

This photo provided by National Park Service shows the charred remains of a building at the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, in northern Arizona, on Sunday, July 13, 2025. (National Park Service via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said she presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday even as he has questioned her credibility to take over her country after the U.S. ousted then-President Nicolás Maduro.

The Nobel Institute has said Machado could not give her prize to Trump, an honor that he has coveted. Even if it the gesture proves to be purely symbolic, it was extraordinary given that Trump has effectively sidelined Machado, who has long been the face of resistance in Venezuela. He has signaled his willingness to work with acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who had been Maduro’s second in command.

“I presented the president of the United States the medal, the Nobel Peace Prize," Machado told reporters after leaving the White House and heading to Capitol Hill. She said she had done so "as a recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom.”

Trump has raised doubts about his stated commitment to backing democratic rule in Venezuela, giving no timetable on when elections might be held. Machado indicated that he had provided few specifics on that front during their discussion.

She did not provide more information on what was said, and the White House did not say if Trump accepted the medal or offer other details of its own.

After a closed-door meeting with Trump, Machado greeted dozens of cheering supporters waiting for her near the White House gates, stopping to hug many.

“We can count on President Trump,” she told them without elaborating, prompting some to briefly chant, “Thank you, Trump.”

Before her visit to Washington, Machado had not been seen in public since she traveled last month to Norway, where her daughter received the peace prize on her behalf. She had spent 11 months in hiding in Venezuela before she appeared in Norway after the ceremony.

The jubilant scene after her meeting with Trump stood in contrast to political realities in Venezuela. Rodríguez remains in charge of day-to-day government operations, along with others in Maduro’s inner circle. In her first state of the union speech Thursday, the interim president promoted the resumption of diplomatic ties between the historic adversaries and advocated for opening the state-run oil industry to more foreign investment after Trump pledged to seize control of Venezuelan crude sales.

Trump has said it would be difficult for Machado to lead because she “doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country.” Her party is widely believed to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called Machado “a remarkable and brave voice” but also said the meeting didn’t mean Trump’s opinion of her changed, calling it “a realistic assessment.”

Leavitt told reporters that Trump supported new Venezuelan elections “when the time is right” but did not say when he thought that might be.

Leavitt said Machado had sought the face-to-face meeting without setting expectations for what would occur. She spent about two and a half hours at the White House.

“I don’t think he needs to hear anything from Ms. Machado," the press secretary said while the meeting was still going on, other than to have a ”frank and positive discussion about what’s taking place in Venezuela.”

After leaving the White House, Machado went on to a closed-door meeting with a bipartisan group of senators.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said Machado told them that “if there’s not some progress, real progress towards a transition in power, and/or elections in the next several months, we should all be worried.”

“She reminded us that Delcy Rodríguez is, in many ways, worse than Maduro,” he added.

Asked if Machado had heard any commitment from the White House on holding elections in Venezuela, Murphy said, “No, I don’t think she got any commitment from them."

Sen. Bernie Moreno, an Ohio Republican, was exultant following the meeting, saying Machado "delivered a message that loud and clear: What President Trump did was the most important, significant event in Latin America. That getting rid of Maduro was absolutely essential.”

Machado's Washington stop coincided with U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea seizing another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says had ties to Venezuela. It is part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil after U.S. forces captured Maduro and his wife less than two weeks ago at a heavily guarded compound in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas and brought them to New York to stand trial on drug trafficking charges.

Leavitt said Venezuela's interim authorities have been fully cooperating with the Trump administration and noted that Rodríguez's government said it planned to release more prisoners detained under Maduro. Among those released were five Americans this week.

Trump said Wednesday that he had a “great conversation” with Rodríguez, their first since Maduro was ousted.

Just hours after Maduro's capture, Trump said of Machado that “it would be very tough for her to be the leader.” Machado had steered a careful course to avoid offending Trump, notably after winning the peace prize, and had sought to cultivate relationships with him and key administration voices like Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The industrial engineer and daughter of a steel magnate, Machado began challenging the ruling party in 2004, when the nongovernmental organization she co-founded, Súmate, promoted a referendum to recall then-President Hugo Chávez. The initiative failed, and Machado and other Súmate executives were charged with conspiracy.

A year later, she drew the anger of Chávez and his allies again for traveling to Washington to meet President George W. Bush, whom Chávez considered an adversary.

Almost two decades later, she marshaled millions of Venezuelans to reject Chávez’s successor, Maduro, for another term in the 2024 election. But ruling party-loyal electoral authorities declared him the winner despite ample credible evidence to the contrary. Ensuing anti-government protests ended in a brutal crackdown.

Garcia Cano reported from Caracas, Venezuela. Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro, Stephen Groves, Michelle L. Price and Matthew Lee in Washington, and Megan Janetsky in Mexico City contributed to this report.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado is welcomed at the Capitol before a meeting with senators, from left, Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., and Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., as the Nobel Peace Prize recipient visits American leaders two weeks after President Donald Trump toppled Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro in a stunning military raid, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, center, leaves the Capitol, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, center, is welcomed by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., left, Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., far left, and Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., right, as the Nobel Peace Prize recipient visits American leaders at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado gestures to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado waves to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado smiles on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado waves to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

FILE - U.S. President George Bush, right, meets with Maria Corina Machado, executive director of Sumate, a non-governmental organization that defends Venezuelan citizens' political rights, in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, May 31, 2005. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

FILE - Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gestures to supporters during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro the day before his inauguration for a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, file)