Utahns mourn loss of historic Grand Canyon Lodge in North Rim Fire

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Utahns mourn the loss of the historic Grand Canyon Lodge due to fires.
The Dragon Bravo and White Sage fires destroy structures, forcing evacuations.
Locals hope for rebuilding; financial impacts are significant, affecting livelihoods deeply.

SALT LAKE CITY — Heartbreak, tears and devastation are sweeping across Utah as flames engulf the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, destroying dozens of structures, including the nearly century-old Grand Canyon Lodge.

Two fires, the Dragon Bravo Fire and the White Sage Fire, have destroyed dozens of structures, forced evacuations and shut down the North Rim for the remainder of the season. Among those affected are Utahns with deep ties to the area.

According to Grand Canyon historian Davy Crockett, who lives in Saratoga Springs and serves as Vice President of the Grand Canyon Historical Society, the historic lodge was originally built by a Salt Lake City company.

"There's a ton of Utah connection in the north end. Really, people in Kanab are the ones who first developed it way over 100 years ago," Crockett said. "Those of us who know people there just have the faith and understanding that they're going to do everything they can to see that that can be rebuilt."

Melinda Rich Marshall, who runs the Jacob Lake Inn near the North Rim, spoke to KSL-TV from her home in St. George. Her family has operated the inn for five generations — 102 years in total. She and her staff were forced to evacuate as the White Sage Fire came within 2 miles of the property.

"The loss of the lodge at the North Rim is heartbreaking. It's part of the North Rim history, just like our lodge is, so I think it puts things into perspective for us, just how unpredictable fire is," Marshall said. "This is our second major catastrophic fire in five years that we have been dealing with, and we really just started to recover from that one."

Marshall said the financial toll will be devastating.

"The North Rim is probably 80% of the money that we make," she explained. "We really don't know how we're going to make it through. And that's pretty scary. Truthfully, it really is."

Despite the destruction, there is hope. The Grand Canyon Lodge was rebuilt once before after a fire more than a century ago. Locals and historians alike believe it can be done again.

As of now, Marshall doesn't know when they'll be allowed back in.

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