Wildfires can burn and spread differently depending on what vegetation they burn. The two fires in northern Arizona have varied landscapes. Ponderosa pine trees grow near the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and can live for hundreds of years.

The Grand Canyon's North Bravo Fire intensified on July 11, the day before Katy Rock Shop owner Jacob Proctor and his family arrived at the national park.

As of Monday, the Dragon Bravo fire on the North Rim had consumed more than 5,700 acres and was not contained, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

Partial blue skies in the morning allowed many park visitors to ignore fires on the North Rim. By afternoon, ashfall made for a different story.

It was not long before the small plumes transformed into huge flames. Mr Crockett, vice-president of the non-profit Grand Canyon Historical Society, went to bed but worries kept him up. The historic Grand Canyon Lodge, with its panoramic views of one of the natural wonders of the world, was in the path of those flames.