This image provided by Eddie Vallee and taken from the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park in northern Arizona shows smoke over the park's North Rim on Thursday, July 10, 2025.(Eddie Vallee via AP)
Republished July 11, 2025 - 12:49 AM
Original Publication Date July 10, 2025 - 11:06 PM
JACOB LAKE, Ariz. (AP) — Visitors and staff at two national parks in the U.S. West have been evacuated because of wildfires.
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, about 260 miles (418 kilometers) southwest of Denver, closed Thursday morning after lighting sparked blazes on both rims, the park said. The wildfire on the South Rim has burned 2.5 square miles (6.5 square kilometers), with no containment of the perimeter.
The conditions there have been ripe for wildfire with hot temperatures, low humidity, gusty winds and dry vegetation, the park said, adding that weather will remain a concern Friday.
The Grand Canyon's North Rim in Arizona also closed Thursday because of a wildfire on adjacent Bureau of Land Management land near Jacob Lake. The Coconino County Sheriff's Office said it helped evacuate people from an area north of Jacob Lake and campers in the Kaibab National Forest nearby.
The fire began Wednesday evening after a thunderstorm moved through the area, fire officials said. It has burned about 1.5 square miles (3.9 square kilometers) with zero containment.
News from © The Associated Press, 2025