Grand Canyon Lodge, National Park Service
Digest more
A combination of high winds, dry air and above average temperatures caused a wildfire in the Grand Canyon to rapidly expand and cause major damage.
“The North Rim of the Grand Canyon is like another world,” said Ethan Aumack, executive director of the Grand Canyon Trust, who has fond memories of skiing through the woods to the rim after the lone road that leads there closes for the winter. “It feels like a much more personal place.”
The NWS warning was in effect for regions of the Grand Canyon below 4,000 feet elevation. Temperatures were forecast to potentially reach 110 degrees at Phantom Ranch and 102 at Havasupai Gardens.
About 10 people die at the Grand Canyon every year, CBS affiliate KPHO reported. This is the second death at the park that the park service has reported this year. In May, a 74-year-old man died while attempting to hike from the canyon's South Rim to the North Rim, an approximately 24-mile distance.