FREDONIA, Ariz. (KUTV) — A fast-moving wildfire in northern Arizona has burned nearly 50,000 acres, prompting evacuations, road closures, and a massive interagency firefighting effort across the region.

The White Sage Fire began July 10 east of the small community of White Sage, Ariz., roughly 13 miles southeast of Fredonia. It was caused by a lightning strike, according to officials with the Bureau of Land Management.

As of Tuesday, the fire had grown to 49,286 acres. More than 460 personnel are assigned to the incident, which is being managed jointly by BLM and Coconino County emergency response teams.

“The fire behavior has been really extreme because the conditions are so dry,” said Rachel Carnahan, Public Affairs Officer for the BLM Arizona Strip District. “You have dry fuels, high temperatures, and wind gusts up to 25 miles an hour, which cause spotting, running, torching. That’s why we’ve seen so much movement on this fire.”

In the last 24 hours, the fire jumped Highway 89A, a major corridor connecting the Grand Canyon’s North Rim to communities in southern Utah. More than 179,000 gallons of fire retardant have been dropped by air tankers to try to slow the spread.

Carnahan said officials are focused on public and firefighter safety. Evacuations were ordered for parts of the Kaibab National Forest, including the Jacob Lake area. The entire North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park is now closed to the public for the remainder of the year.

“Throughout this incident, we’ve had a focus on human life and firefighter and public safety,” Carnahan said. “Those evacuations with Coconino County took place early on, July 10 and 11, and included all of our visitors, campers, hunters, and residents.”

While the communities of White Sage and Fredonia are not currently threatened by active fire, locals say the region is still reeling from the destruction of the historic Grand Canyon Lodge in the Dragon Bravo Fire, which ignited just days earlier about 30 miles southeast.

George McCormick, a longtime Fredonia resident and former firefighter of 63 years, said the loss of the lodge — and the strategy used in that fire — has shaken the community.

“This is the fourth one of these on the North Kaibab,” McCormick said. “They’ve almost burned down the whole mountain. And you can’t manage something you can’t manage.”

He criticized what he sees as a growing reliance on “management” strategies that allow lightning-sparked wildfires to burn under observation, rather than being aggressively suppressed.

McCormick said the fire’s impact is being felt across the region, particularly in communities that depend on tourism and seasonal income from the North Rim.

“The people have businesses that depend on tourists,” he said. “It’s going to affect them. The whole summer is gone. It'll take a long time to build that back.”

BLM officials said crews remain focused on containment of the White Sage Fire, with more air and ground resources arriving daily.

Officials are urging the public to avoid the area and respect all road closures and emergency orders.

No structures have been reported lost in the White Sage Fire so far, and no injuries have been reported.