Where is Dragon Bravo fire located? Containment and all we know as wildfire becomes 10th largest fire in Arizona history

The Dragon Bravo fire is a wildfire located near the Grand Canyon National Park’s North Rim in Arizona. The fire, which has destroyed iconic structures like the Grand Canyon Lodge, began on July 4 after lightning struck, as per 12 News.

As of the writing of this article, the Dragon Bravo fire has burned 115,415 acres, according to National Interagency Fire Center, notes Watch Duty. The wildfire is now the 10th-largest fire in Arizona’s history. If the Dragon Bravo fire surpasses 119,000 acres, it will become the ninth-largest wildfire, overtaking 2004’s Willow Fire, according to 12 News.

National Park Service shared that 86.3% of the Bright Angel Creek watershed above the affected North Rim has been burned. In addition, other watersheds that are impacted are the North Canyon, South Canyon, Saddle, Buck Farm, Bright Angel Creek & Phantom Ranch, Nankoweap, and Crystal.

More about the raging Dragon Bravo fire

Watch Duty notes that the Dragon Bravo fire’s current containment status is 9%. As a consequence of the wildfire, the Southbound State Route 67 south of Jacob Lake has been closed, in addition to various trails of the Grand Canyon National Park which include the North Kaibab Trail, South Kaibab Trail, Phantom Ranch and Bright Angel Campground and Trail below Havasupai Gardens, River Trail, Tonto East and other backcountry routes, notes the National Park Service.

According to highlights by Watch Duty, a localized red-flag warning was issued on July 31 for the area of the fire, with wind gusts predicted to reach high as 35 mph. The update also disclosed that firefighters used aircraft-dropped retardant, and operations are currently ongoing to direct the fire on the uncontained perimeter.

Chris Moore, a Fire Behavior Analyst, shared updates about the ongoing wildfire on the Dragon Bravo Fire Facebook page. He said,

“Today we are facing another day of critical fire weather, and that will cause extreme fire behavior across the fire. So today, as we look at the fire up here on the north, we’re expecting more movement to the north. There is the Cane Fire from 2023. Most of the time on an average, year old fire scars will slow down fire spread, but it being so dry this year, we will see if that holds true today. And we are assessing that and other fire scars further north the fire to see if they are effective holding features.”

Watch Duty also expected that the fire might burn out when it gets to the scar from Obi Fire, which burned in 2018.

Continuing, Moore provided information about the fire on the east side:

“On the east side of the fire, down in House Rock Valley, we have a change in fuel types. And so as the fire burns down into House Rock Valley, it is much easier for operations forces to contain and suppress that fire. But during the heat of the day, with the wind and the sun and the relative humidity, it makes it really challenging for people to engage on fire down there as well.”

Meanwhile, 12 News reports that Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs has called for an investigation into why federal officials let the initial lightning spark burn without containing it.