White Sage Fire: Evacuations lifted in northern Arizona

(related report): Crews making progress on northern Arizona wildfires

COCONINO COUNTY, Ariz. - Crews in northern Arizona are battling a wildfire that has burned thousands of acres of land and forced evacuations.

What we know:

According to the federal government website InciWeb, the White Sage Fire was sparked by lightning, and began on July 9. The fire began around 1.5 miles from the community of White Sage, and about 15 miles to the southeast of Fredonia.

An Aug. 1 update shows the fire has burned 58,985 acres with 95% containment.

Aout 70 personnel remained assigned to the fire.

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The White Sage Fire (U.S.F.S. Kaibab RD)

What they're saying:

The arid Arizona landscape is making the firefight challenging for crews battling the fire.

"Especially in terrain that may be a little bit more rough and a little bit more difficult for firefighters to get into or may take a little bit more time for them to get into," said Dolores Garcia, a spokesperson for the Arizona Bureau of Land Management.

"Early in the phases of the earliest evacuations, we were having to go to campsites and some of the dispersed camping areas to assist with the evacuation and make some of those notifications," she added.

The Grand Canyon's North Rim is also impacted by the nearby Dragon Bravo Fire, which was also sparked by a lightning strike.

"We are also kind of keep in touch with the neighboring fire," Garcia said. "Right now, there's a 30-mile distance between the two fires."

‘Some of those historic places really are in danger’

(previous report): Evacuations ordered for northern Arizona wildfires

Two wildfires in northern Arizona have burned thousands of acres, but so far, no structures have been damaged or destroyed. FOX 10's Nicole Krasean has the latest on the White Sage Fire and the Dragon Bravo Fire. (July 12 report)

Melinda Rich Marshall's family has operated the Jacob Lake Inn since it opened over a century ago. The inn is now under threat from the White Sage Fire. Melinda says the 2020 Magnum Fire, which burned over 70,000 acres in the same area, taught the inn staff evacuation lessons.

"We all kind of had our jobs that we did last time, so we did the same things this one. One of us goes over to the gift shop and starts taking all of the Native American rugs down and things that can have damage from smoke or things that again, we want to make sure don't get burned if something happens," she said.

Among the items that couldn't be taken was a door jamb with a very personal history for Melinda.

"All of the grandkids, so there's pretty much 30 of us where all of our heights have been recorded over time that my granddad started, and he's no longer with us and neither is my grandmother," she said.

The biggest priority: evacuating guests and other locals.

"We stayed at the people in the community's homes. One of them, in fact, housed 40 of us at their home on couches and on bedding and all sorts of things, and they were amazing. They fed us pancakes in the morning," she said.

A show of hospitality that Melinda and the rest of the Jacob Lake Inn family hope to provide for guests again, and soon.

"Even though the building is 102, our legacy is that long. Really, what makes Jacob Lake, Jacob Lake, is the people and that's I think the most important part," she said.