ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — U.S. land managers are racing the clock as hotter, drier weather raises the risk of wildfires in the nation’s overgrown forests with each passing year.

The Grand Canyon Lodge was the park's one and only hotel, according the National Park Service, with the next nearest lodgings roughly 18 miles away.

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs has called for an independent investigation into the federal response management of a wildfire that caused numerous residents and workers to evacuate and destroyed a historic lodge.