Wildfire along Grand Canyon’s North Rim destroys historic lodge

Fires over the Grand Canyon (Caren Carney via AP)

A wildfire that destroyed a historic lodge and a visitors centre on the Grand Canyon’s North Rim grew rapidly more than a week after it began as firefighters pushed ahead with efforts to slow its spread.

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