Dragon Bravo Fire moves up in ranking of biggest Arizona wildfires

PHOENIX — The ever-growing Dragon Bravo Fire in northern Arizona is now the seventh largest fire in state history.

The destructive wildfire has consumed over 126,000 acres on the North Rim with 13% containment, according to Tuesday morning’s incident report.

The fire was sparked by lightning on July 4 and has grown rapidly, surpassing several major wildfires from past years.

Dragon Bravo Fire seventh biggest wildfire in Arizona history

On Sunday, the Dragon Bravo Fire grew larger than the 2020 Bighorn Fire and 2004 Willow Fire, both previously at the bottom of Arizona’s top 10 biggest wildfires.

It has now overtaken the 2019 Woodbury Fire, officially claiming the No. 7 spot on the list.

The last fire to exceed this scale was the 2021 Telegraph Fire, burned through over 180,000 acres south of Superior to reach No. 6 on the list (last updated on Aug. 22):

1. Wallow Fire, 2011, 538,049 acres
2. Rodeo-Chediski Fire, 2002, 468,638 acres
3. Cave Creek Complex Fire, 2005, 243,950 acres
4. Horseshoe Two Fire, 2011, 222,954 acres
5. Bush Fire, 2020, 193,455 acres
6. Telegraph Fire, 2021, 180,747 acres
7. Dragon Bravo Fire, 2025, 145,504 acres*
8. Woodbury Fire, 2019, 123,875 acres
9. Bighorn Fire, 2020, 119,541 acres
10. Willow Fire, 2004, 119,500 acres

* As of Aug. 22.

Jim Cross, a retired KTAR News 92.3 FM reporter who spent 25 years covering wildfires, said the fire’s rapid growth in a month is notable.

“The fact that this fire moved into the seventh spot, all time, it’s pretty amazing,” Cross said on Tuesday. “The thing that surprised me is that this fire burned so quickly.”

While the fire has slowed down, it’s still growing — and has a way to go, he added.

“They’re looking at, through Friday, of an extreme heat warning on the North Rim,” Cross said. “The monsoon has done virtually nothing in that part of the state and and much of the state. And that’s going to be a big factor: if they can finally get some monsoon rain up there sometime.”

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Colton Krolak contributed to this report.

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