When lightning first sparked the forest on the Kaibab Plateau, it was what fire ecologists consider a productive fire -- cleaning up the low lying fuels and small diameter trees within the mapped boundaries. Wally Covington who heads the Ecological Restoration Institute says the fire rolled along like this for more than two weeks burning 20,000 acres.
“Things were looking good there was a great deal of confidence until it escaped and then of course it was ‘oh my goodness,’” Covington said. That’s when wind gusts swirled and the fire raged out of control, scorching 600-year-old trees and jumping the only paved road to the north rim of the Grand Canyon. Hundreds of visitors were trapped. Park service officials, firefighters and police led people on a web of forest roads out of the smoke to safety.

Martha Hahn who directed the Grand Canyon Trust at the time, said the Warm Fire became a cautionary tale.

The Warm Fire began by a lightning strike and was initially managed for the health of the forest. Then a storm cell moved in and high winds carried the fire across SR67. A back burn was lit and ultimately almost 60,000 acres burned. The North Rim was closed and evacuated for almost a week.