FREDONIA, AZ — One of the biggest tragedies of the Dragon Bravo Fire on the Grand Canyon's North Rim was the community that was forced to scatter as the fire stole their chosen home. But in a small, much-loved bar on the Arizona-Utah line over the weekend, home came back again.
ABC15 documented the reunion of North Rim employees during their "survivor party" at Buckskin Tavern in Fredonia, where staff members representing four decades of dedication to the less-visited rim celebrated what the community means to them, and mourned the loss of the North Rim.
The Dragon Bravo Fire, which sparked on July 4 by a lightning strike, grew to burn over 145,000 acres of land in Northern Arizona, becoming the seventh-largest fire in state history. No one was seriously injured in the fire, but it destroyed over 100 structures and buildings, and forced the evacuation of employees and visitors. The blaze demolished the North Rim's historic lodge and visitor center.
Watch the emotional reunion in the video player above.
