Parts of Grand Canyon National Park in U.S. west closed due to advancing wildfire

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  • Parts of Grand Canyon National Park in U.S. west closed due to advancing wildfire

Parts of Grand Canyon National Park, a popular natural wonder in the U.S. west, were closed due to a fast-moving wildfire that reached about 8,700 acres as of Friday afternoon, authorities said.

All visitors on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, northwestern Arizona, were required to evacuate due to the advancing wildfire, dubbed the White Sage Fire, said park officials in a statement. They issued an extreme heat warning, as temperatures are expected to reach as high as 46 degrees Celsius.

The fire made a significant run on Thursday, spotting and torching due to sustained winds, extremely dry conditions and low relative humidity, according to InciWeb, an interagency all-risk incident web information management system provided by the United States Forest Service's latest update.

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