“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.

A wildfire sparked by lightning on July 4 has now spread at the Grand Canyon, consuming both the Natinonal Park Services’ visitors’ hub and the historic Grand Canyon Lodge on the park’s Northern Rim.

Authorities maintained the evacuation zones for the White Sage Fire north of the Grand Canyon as the fire grew expectantly.