Washington, D.C. — After burning for nearly a month, the Grand Canyon Dragon Bravo fire has reached new heights. Over the weekend, the devastating wildfire grew into the largest wildfire of the year so far in the United States, burning more than 125,000 acres of land with only 13 percent containment. The National Multi-Agency Coordination Group, made of representatives from wildland fire agencies around the country, raised the National Preparedness Level to 4, signaling to agencies that there is a high need for equipment and people to fight fires. As we approach the end of a dry, hot summer, the ongoing wildfire season calls into question the dangers of climate change and how best the National Park Service can respond to imminent threats.
"What we’re likely to see for the remainder of this summer and early fall are fewer ‘red-card’ qualified fire personnel in parks, and because the overall park staffs are reduced, a reluctance on the part of park managers to let them go when ‘fire callups’ occur," said Bill Wade, executive director of the Association of National Park Rangers. "Park managers won’t be able to allow staff to leave the parks and still meet Department of the Interior Secretary Burgum’s order to keep the parks accessible and provide visitor services at full levels."
Meanwhile, the Forest Service and National Park Service continue to face mass layoffs and resignations during their busiest season. According to a Forest Service employee, the agency lost 4,800 people, including at least 1,800 red-carded employees who would be able to respond to wildfires. An internal document leaked to the National Parks Conservation Association also suggests that the National Park Service has lost nearly a quarter of its permanent employees since the Trump administration took office. Amid federal budget cuts, some seasonal employees at Yosemite National Park worked for as long as six weeks without pay in recent months as park supervisors struggled to manage hiring.
The following news roundup calls attention to threats to the National Park Service as the busiest season of the year for parks continues. This newsletter is brought to you by the Association of National Park Rangers (ANPR), a coalition of former and current national parks staff — ranging from maintenance workers to biologists — that aims to support and protect the National Park Service by highlighting its employees’ diverse stories. As millions of Americans take advantage of all that our country’s public lands have to offer, this newsletter will elevate key stories and reports of the summer of crisis for our national parks.
Inside Climate News: Grand Canyon Fire Is Now the Largest Burning in the Nation
By Nicholas Kusnetz | August 4, 2025
A wildfire that has closed the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park raged out of control over the weekend and is now the largest currently burning in the country. The Dragon Bravo fire has burned more than 123,000 acres and was only 13 percent contained as of Monday afternoon, according to a federal interagency website that tracks wildfires.
New York Times: Dragon Bravo Fire Grows to Largest Wildfire in the Continental U.S.
By Amy Graff | August 2, 2025
A wildfire in Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona has burned for nearly a month in exceptionally dry, hot weather, growing into the largest wildfire of the year so far in the continental United States, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
The Dragon Bravo fire, which has closed the park’s North Rim, grew to more than 114,000 acres on Saturday. Its size is expected to increase in coming days because of dry, warm weather.
National Parks Traveler: Fire, Smoke Danger Persist Across West; Dragon Bravo Fire Continues To Grow On Grand Canyon North Rim
By Jan Childs | August 5, 2025
The National Multi-Agency Coordination Group, made of representatives from wildland fire agencies around the country, raised the National Preparedness Level to 4 on Tuesday. Rated on a scale of 1 to 5, the level is meant to inform agencies of the potential need for equipment and people to fight fires.
The move comes as 35 large, uncontained fires burn across the West and elevated fire conditions continue for much of the region, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. More than 12,000 firefighters, nearly 600 fire engines and more than 100 helicopters are battling the various blazes.
The most destructive, the Dragon Bravo fire on Grand National Park's North Rim, continues to grow larger. The fire has now burned more than 126,000 acres, or nearly 200 square miles. It is 13 percent contained.
SFGATE: 'Dirty August': Peak fire season is here and 4 national parks are on fire
By Sam Hill | August 1, 2025
Wildfires are burning through four national parks across the West in what is shaping up to be an intense fire season for an already beleaguered federal agency. Making things even worse, experts say, is that the National Park Service employs fewer firefighters than it now needs, and is using an antiquated fire management strategy.
The Dragon Bravo Fire in Arizona’s Grand Canyon National Park has grown to over 100,000 acres since it was started by a lightning strike on July 4, making it the largest US wildfire of 2025 and the 10th largest in Arizona history, according to KCBD-TV. It burned down the North Rim’s near century-old Grand Canyon Lodge days after sparking.
Newsweek: Map Shows National Parks Where Wildfires Have Prompted Partial Closures
By Mandy Taheri | August 3, 2025
There have been hundreds of fires across the U.S. this year, with over 3,290,000 acres burned, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
Wildfires endanger lives not only through the immediate threat of flames that scorch homes, roads, and infrastructure, but also through lingering hazards like smoke and fine particulate matter PM2.5, which can severely degrade air quality and pose health risks.
New York Times: Gifford Fire Burns 65,000 Acres in California’s Los Padres Forest
By Yan Zhuang | August 4, 2025
The Gifford fire had burned 65,000 acres by late Monday, scorching through part of Los Padres National Forest in south-central California and putting hundreds of people under evacuation orders.
The wildfire was 5 percent contained as of late Monday, officials said. Three people had been injured by the blaze, and 460 structures were threatened. There were 975 people under either evacuation orders or warnings.
Boise State Public Radio: USDA proposes closing Forest Service offices while moving more workers to the Mountain West
By Rachel Cohen | August 1, 2025
Big organizational changes could be coming to the U.S. Forest Service under an effort to restructure its parent agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The plan, released last week by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, would eliminate the Forest Service’s nine regional offices over the next year, including offices in Missoula, Mont., Lakewood, Colo., Albuquerque, N.M. and Ogden, Utah.
The National Association of Forest Service Retirees, which includes all former chiefs, said they were “extremely concerned” about the reorganization in a letter to Senate Agriculture Committee leaders. Board Chair Steve Ellis, who retired after several decades of work with the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, said he doubts that getting rid of regional offices will lead to more efficiency.
High Country News: ‘Help is not on the way’
By Kylie Mohr | August 4, 2025
Every spring, Forest Service fire leaders meet to plan for the upcoming fire season. This year, some employees were shocked by the blunt remarks made during a meeting with forest supervisors and fire staff officers from across the Intermountain West. “We were told, ‘Help is not on the way,’” said one employee, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of losing their job. “I’ve never been told that before.”
Agency leaders already knew it might be a bad wildfire season, made worse by having fewer hands available to help out. According to the employee High Country News spoke to, the Forest Service lost at least 1,800 fire-qualified, or “red-carded,” employees through layoffs, deferred resignation and retirement offers. In total, 4,800 people left the agency.
VailDaily: US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management officials in Colorado describe ‘big holes’ in staffing
By Ryan Spencer | August 1, 2025
Stewart said that 41 employees at Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests accepted the Trump Administration’s deferred resignation option, which allowed eligible federal workers to voluntarily resign while continuing to receive benefits for a time. Since those employees left, he said the national forests he oversees have gained eight new employees through lateral transfers.
While the deferred resignation program largely excluded firefighters, Stewart said that some non-fire personnel with “red card” qualifications, which allow them to work support roles during wildfires, left the agency through the program. He noted that Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz in June called on “red card” employees who took the deferred resignation option to “come back” for the fire season.
The Economist: The National Park Service is in disarray
August 3, 2025
The Trump administration is gutting National Park Service (NPS) staffing and funding in the name of rooting out “waste, fraud and abuse”. The NPS had been shrinking since 2011. But the arrival of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, initiated a mass exodus. Full-time employees were laid off, or retired and resigned rather than put up with the stress and uncertainty. An internal document leaked to the National Parks Conservation Association, an advocacy group, suggests that the agency has lost nearly a quarter of its permanent employees since Donald Trump took office. As of July 8th Glacier National Park in Montana had nearly 200 full-time staff and 47 vacancies, including six firefighting roles, according to an internal database. The park is missing several IT specialists, and spotty internet could affect how well search-and-rescue teams operate.
NPR: Yosemite employees worked for weeks with no pay before the government hired them
By Chiara Eisner | August 4, 2025
Some seasonal employees at Yosemite National Park worked for as long as six weeks without pay this spring and summer as park supervisors scrambled to manage hiring amid federal budget cuts, workers told NPR. The employees said they are now receiving hourly wages but have not been paid for the work they were asked to do as volunteers while they waited to be put on the federal payroll.
Some of the workers said they feel exploited.
Common Dreams: Yosemite National Park Employees Worked Without Pay for Weeks Amid Trump Cuts
By Brad Reed | August 4, 2025
NPR on Monday published a lengthy investigation that found seasonal workers at Yosemite National Park this year worked for as long as six weeks without pay amid the chaos caused by the Trump administration's massive staffing cuts.
Multiple Yosemite workers told NPR that they felt exploited and added that they haven't received any backpay for the work they performed for free earlier this year.
"It's definitely taking advantage of people who love their jobs and don't want the park to suffer," said one park employee who worked without pay for three weeks before being formally hired.
The Guardian: US national parks staff in ‘survival mode’ to keep parks open amid Trump cuts
By Oliver Milman | August 7, 2025
Across the US’s fabled but overstretched national parks, unusual scenes are playing out this summer following budget cuts by Donald Trump’s administration. Archeologists are staffing ticket booths, ecologists are covering visitor centers and the superintendents of parks are even cleaning the toilets.
The National Park Service (NPS), responsible for maintaining cherished wildernesses and sites of cultural importance from Yellowstone to the Statue of Liberty, has lost a quarter of its permanent staff since Trump took office in January, with the administration seeking to gut the service’s budget by a third.
Louisville Public Radio: ‘They’re not allowed to speak to us’ National parks clam up amid Trump staffing cuts
By Derek Parham | August 7, 2025
It’s the height of visitor season at Mammoth Cave National Park in southern Kentucky. Parking lots are full, and cars line the roadways. Visitors are clamoring for spots on underground tours of the longest cave system in the world.
Since taking office in January, the Trump administration has made cuts of roughly 24% to permanent staffing at the National Park Service, affecting parks all across the country, but on the historic tour through Mammoth Cave along with more than 100 other people, it could be hard to spot any change.
That’s because the cuts so far have largely affected maintenance, scientific research and emergency response services.
RV Travel: National Park Service ordered to erase ‘negative history’
August 2, 2025
In accordance with President Trump’s executive order to “Restore Truth and Sanity,” and a related directive by Department of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, the administration is forcing National Park Service staff to inventory its signage and interpretation to meet standards that are not based on historical scholarship or science.
First reported by Politico’s E&E News and The New York Times, these submissions include invaluable information about history, ecology and science at national parks. This information could be physically removed, if the Department of the Interior determines that it is too negative about Americans past or present, or fails to “emphasize the beauty, grandeur, and abundance of landscapes and other natural features at these national park sites.”
Minnesota Star Tribune: Some Ojibwe signs, books could be removed as feds evaluate national parks
By Dee DePass | August 5, 2025
Federal officials are reviewing whether to remove books and signs with historic references to the harsh treatment of Native Americans from Minnesota’s national park sites.
An executive order issued by President Donald Trump in March required employees at all national park sites to audit and report to the Department of the Interior any material that negatively portrayed Americans, past or present, by July 18.
In Minnesota, staff reported informational signs and books that referenced forced relocations, starvation and treaty violations of Native American tribes living in Minnesota and Wisconsin, including Ojibwe, Yankton Sioux and Dakota, according to groups that work with the parks and staffers who did not want to talk for attribution for fear of losing their jobs.
Montana Dispatch: A Houston Investment Banker Now Has Control Of America's National Parks
By Ryan Busse | August 2, 2025
Then late last week, Trump’s billionaire and friend-of-big-oil Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum, delivered another blow when he quietly installed Kevin Lilly, an investment banker from Houston, to the post of Assistant Secretary of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, an incredibly important position entrusted with overseeing all of America’s 63 National Parks and 570 national wildlife refuges and marine national monuments.
Burgum gave no reason or justification for Lilly’s selection, and like many other Trump administration staffing decisions, the Houston banker is not actually “officially nominated.” Instead, Burgum has installed Lilly as “acting” using the federal vacancies reform act, which allows a legal loophole for temporarily filling positions, and importantly for the Trump administration, avoids the traditional scrutiny of the Senate confirmation process, where the public has a chance to weigh in.
