AzRA Trips are Still On Despite Wildfires
Updated/edited 8/13/25 By Sharon Hester, Posted 7/14/25 at 3PM MST By Kaelin Zielinski
What’s Happening and How it Affects AzRA River Trips
In case you aren’t aware of the situation on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. There were/are two fires: the White Sage Fire (now out) and The Dragon Bravo. The Dragon Bravo Fire started on July 4th, caused by a lightning strike within the park boundaries. It was initially managed as a confined and contained fire to help with future fire fuel load reduction. Firefighters had constructed containment lines and were prepared to conduct a defensive firing operation before conditions rapidly changed.
With this information and situation, we understandably have had a lot of questions and concerns about our river trips. We are running river trips as normal with few changes. Phantom Ranch is completely closed (as of 7/14/25 1:00pm). The Park Service is advising that we do not camp near the Phantom Ranch area. The Bright Angel Trail is currently closed below Havasupai Gardens to backpackers and the general public. However, Grand Canyon National Park Service is allowing river trip exchanges to take place as normal.
The potential issue affecting our river trips is smoke, though amount of smoke and location of it will vary day by day. You can check the to Smoke Outlook. However keep in mind the canyon is an enormous place and smoke (or the lack thereof) can vary greatly over its vast distances and variable terrain. How this affects river trips is that the air potentially could become smoky and thick in some locations, affecting long distance visibility and have a smokey smell. Although, the smoke has not at this writing become thick enough to negatively effect the health or comfort of our participants. Smoke generally becomes worse at night when the cold air settles and the wind dies down. It may also affect guests who are sensitive to air quality. If you are mildly sensitive to air quality a N95 mask or even a bandana or Buff type face covering might be helpful.
The closure of Phantom Ranch also affects the mule duffel service. If you have reserved a mule duffel service, please call 888-297-2757 or 303-297-2757 to check on the status of the service.
We recommend that you review the air quality and mule duffel status closer to the start of your trip because this is a dynamic and changing situation. If your trip is many days away, please sit tight before making any decisions on your trip, as the fire is being actively managed, and could be out or creating much less smoke by the time of your trip.
If anything changes that affects AzRA river operations, we will be in touch with accurate and complete information in a timely manner. We do not anticipate this being the case. If you have any questions, please contact us! We are more than happy to chat, explain the situation, and answer any questions you have. With this update on 8/13 even with the increase in size of the fire, our rafting trips have continued to operate as normal with no changes to plans due the fires. Daily camping and hiking plans on our river trips have not been affected nor has anyone experienced ill effects from the occasional intermittent smoke that have occasionally been seen in the first 50 miles of the trip. The prevailing winds blow the smoke to northwest, sparing the vast majority of the inner canyon and the South Rim from smoke or even haze.
With that good news for river runners, it is with a heavy heart and sadness, that a large area of the North Rim has burned and the destruction of the North Rim Lodge, park service housing, and other structures which burned on July 13th. We are grateful no lives were lost, as North Rim residents were evacuated 2 days prior. The fire and burning of the structures is a huge loss to the Grand Canyon community. This fire has displaced the North Rim families. Many who were evacuated left with the bare minimum of personal items and all their worldly possessions were lost. This is heartbreaking, along with the historic loss of the lodge and other historic buildings.
Fire Updates 8/14/25
While the fire did increase in greatly in size and move farther north and east in recent week , it is now at 44% containment as of 8/14. You can inquire or see current daily updates from official sources below:
- Grand Canyon Web Cams (view the Yavapai and Kolb Cams, the Kolb Cam points directly to the north at the fire and North Rim Lodge location)
- Facebook GCNP
- Facebook Dragon Bravo Fire
- Government Fire Inciweb
- Fire Information: 928-268-5610 (8am-8pm)
- Fire Net Email: 2025.dragonbravo@firenet.gov
A Long History of Fires Near or at Grand Canyon
Although recent fires have drawn national attention due to infrastructure loss and North Rim evacuations, conditions thus far inside the canyon have remained stable, and river trips continue to be both viable and deeply rewarding. Fires and occasional smoke are a recurring reality in any given Grand Canyon rafting season—and while each year brings its own challenges, the pattern is well established.
Smoke within the Grand Canyon itself is highly localized and variable. Because of its immense length, varied elevations, and complex topography of the canyon, smoke can drift, settle, or lift quickly depending on weather and time of day. Even within the same stretch of river, conditions differ—and if smoke does drop down into a section of the canyon it often clears by mid-day.
Looking ahead, we expect similar situations to occur in future years just as they have in the past. To reflect this, our cancellation policy accounts for the fact that smoke and fire are potential risks of rafting in the Grand Canyon environment.
As monsoon activity returns and humidity increases, we anticipate that fire crews will regain greater control of Dragon/Bravo fire. Unless river operations are formally suspended by the Park Service—which is not currently expected—our trips will continue running with the same preparation, care, and flexibility as they have in the past. The Grand Canyon remains awe-inspiring, and our many guests who recently returned from their trips in the canyon, while this fire has been ongoing, have reported having joyful, transformative experiences despite occasional light haze and smoke.
How to Help
This is a major hit to the park and will take a long time to recover. If you wish to donate to the Grand Canyon community, please consider donating to the Grand Canyon Conservancy. They are the official non-profit organization for the Grand Canyon.
Grand Canyon Conservancy: https://www.grandcanyon.org/
Donate directly to the North Rim Disaster Relief Fund
Phone: 800-858-2808
From Kaelin Zielinski (AzRA Staff): A Personal Note
The North Rim is a special and unique place. It is an isolated park, it’s a six-hour drive from Flagstaff to the North Rim. It is also at an elevation over 8,000 feet, which means there is different flora and fauna than on the South Rim, which is at 7,550 feet, and there are Quaking Aspens everywhere!
My parents were both park service rangers in and around the Grand Canyon and I grew up on the North and South Rims. The North Rim is also a place of importance in my adult life, where joy and beauty were always easily found. When I heard about the fires and the structures being burned my heart broke for the memories lost and all those who lost their homes. I share this personal story with you because major events and stories like this often make the news and overwhelms the small personal stories and lives. Here are a couple of photos from my time on the North Rim as a child and from adult travels over the years.
Please share your memories and adventures on the North Rim in the comments below, we want to remember this beautiful place together.
Fire is a natural force of nature, causing destruction and rebirth. The grand Ponderosa Pine trees found in Northern Arizona require fire to reproduce. I am heartbroken to hear the North Rim burned, and I am also hopeful as I look forward to seeing the wildflowers and nature rebuild.
2 Comments. Leave new
As AZ residents and regular visiting boondockers on the N Rim, we can only be grateful to have visited and seen the N Rim facilities several times before this tragedy. The N Rim was the “locals'” Grand Canyon that the buzz-by tourists never saw. Donate if you can, but consider the greater importance of volunteering to be on committees, perform cleanup and trail rehab, and other ways of lending our knowledge to rebuilding so we can achieve and make even better what was before.
How sad to hear that the North Rim Lodge has burned. My first experience with the Grand Canyon was in that lodge. I had just graduated from college in 1974, was traveling with a friend, and came to the North Rim as my first visit to the Grand Canyon. I walked into the lodge and there was a huge plate-glass window overlooking the canyon. I was my first view of the canyon. It was like looking at a monumental 19th century landscape painting of the Canyon. It was an emotional moment that I will never forget and now I am feeling tremendous sadness for its loss.
Norm Thompson, Louisville, Colorado