By admin 
FLAGSTAFF, AZ (AZFamily) — The North Rim of the Grand Canyon opened three weeks ago after the Dragon Bravo fire forced the park to close last summer.
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The fire burned down the beloved and historic Grand Canyon Lodge – North Rim, as well as over 100 other buildings. Now, park advocates are trying to get the funding to rebuild it, but the bill is not cheap.
The Dragon Bravo Fire tore through the North Rim of the Grand Canyon last July, burning almost 150,000 acres and destroying more than 100 buildings inside the park, including the historic lodge. Amanda Podmore is the co-director for Grand Canyon Trust, one of the main nonprofits for the park.
“We were just watching all the live alerts just to see where it was, what was happening, and hearts really went out to the Park Service and the concessionaires when they had to get the 500 people out of the park so quickly,” Podmore said.
They’ve been helping the forest and park services prepare for the reopening of the North Rim, which opened its gates for visitors again last month.
Now they are trying to secure federal funding to rebuild the lodge.
“So right now, we’re about 11 months out from the date that the fire started, and there’s still no significant funding associated with the rebuild,” Podmore said. “Minimum $600 million for the work that needs to be done.”
Podmore said there’s no timeline for rebuilding, but right now it’s looking like at least 5 to 10 years of reconstruction.
“One key part of the timeline is that the wastewater treatment plant needs to be rebuilt, and so that’ll take a couple of years,” Podmore said. “So it’s important for people to remember there’s not actually active running water and bathrooms up in the park right now.”
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The park does have funding for the new wastewater treatment plant.
The North Rim of the Grand Canyon is a main economic driver for communities in Northern Arizona and Southern Utah.
Podmore said her team and the staff at the North Rim have been working hard to reopen and rebuild the park. They now need support and funding.
“It also uses its entrance fees to subsidize other smaller parks across the country,” Podmore said. “And so now is the time for us to stand together, support this amazing national park that means so much to American Indigenous culture, and get it funded for this one-time, really necessary need.”
Podmore adds that people can help by calling their state and federal representatives to let them know they want to see funding directed toward rebuilding the North Rim.
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