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.

A wildfire in tinder-dry forest on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon grew around 50% on Tuesday after it destroyed dozens of buildings, prompting public outrage that it was left to burn for a week before firefighters tried to fully extinguish it.

Crews fighting a wildfire that destroyed the nearly century-old Grand Canyon Lodge and a visitors center were focused Tuesday on stopping the flames from consuming nearby cabins, mule stables and other structures,