Two wildfires burning in the western United States - including one that has become a "megafire" on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon - are so hot that they're spurring the formation of "fire clouds" that can create their own erratic weather systems.

In Arizona, the wind-whipped Dragon Bravo Fire that destroyed the Grand Canyon Lodge is 9% contained and has charred more than 164 square miles to become the largest fire now burning in the continental U.S. and one of the top 10 largest in recorded Arizona history. Getting around it would be roughly like driving from New York City to Washington, D.C.

The formation of one such cloud was caught on video.

A screeshot from a video showing smoke from the Dragon Bravo Fire forming a pyrocumulus cloud on July 29, 2025. Cliff Berger/Southwes

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