Community News

News Release: Obi Fire Grows to 9,921 Acres; Grand Canyon National Park Implements Temporary Closures on the North Rim

August 13, 2018

 Grand Canyon, AZ-  The Obi Fire is estimated at 9,921 acres. Growth today was primarily in the southern portions of the fire perimeter as the fire continues to back down towards Cape Royal. Fire behavior is active with isolated tree torching and surface fire of one to four foot flames where the fire is consuming dead logs. The fire continues to grow through pine needles and downed logs.

Grand Canyon National Park has implemented temporary closures for the Swamp Ridge Road, the North Bass Trail, and the Powell Plateau Trail. Fire Point, the Nankoweap Trail, and the Point Imperial Trail remain closed.

 

Grand Canyon National Park has also closed Cape Royal Road from the junction with the Point Imperial Road. Included in this closure are Cape Final Trail, Cliff Spring Trail, the northern section of the Ken Patrick Trail from Point Imperial to Cape Royal Road, and the southern section of the Ken Patrick Trail from Cape Royal Road to the old Bright Angel Trail.

These temporary closures are in effect until further notice. The road to Point Imperial and all other North Rim trails and facilities are open at this time. Prior to visiting these areas visitors should check-in at the Backcountry Information Center or the North Rim Visitor Center.

 

"Due to public and firefighter safety, the Cape Royal Road still remains closed. With sudden wind shifts and smoke across the road, the Cape Royal Road is unsafe for motorists at this time," said Incident Commander Paul Lemmon.

 

Smoke from the Obi Fire is visible from both the North and South Rims of the park. There is also visible smoke being produced by fires on the Kaibab National Forest. Large scale wildfires across the west may also have impacts on the canyon over the next few days.

 

Visitors may see increased smoke or haze filling the canyon. Individuals sensitive to smoke can learn how to help protect their health by visiting the Coconino County Public Health Services District website at: http://bit.ly/SmokeHealthAwareness.

Resources assigned to the fire include one Type 2IA handcrew, three engines, one helicopter, one helitack crew, and a fire ecologist.

Please visit https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/management/firemanagement.htm for other information about wildland fire at Grand Canyon National Park or call 928-638-7819 for recorded fire information. For additional daily updates and photos, visit the Obi Fire Inciweb incident page, https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6030/ .

 

For fire information on the Kaibab National Forest, visit www.fs.usda.gov/kaibab or @KaibabNF on Facebook and Twitter or call (928) 635-8311 for recorded fire information.

 

 

-NPS-