Tunnel Fire burns Sunset Crater monument ‘in its entirety’

Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument has burned “in its entirety” in a wildfire in northern Arizona, the National Park Service has confirmed.

In a Facebook post Wednesday, park officials said the popular monument, northeast of Flagstaff, was completely burned over by the Tunnel Fire.

The enormous blaze in Coconino County, first reported Sunday afternoon, has burned more than 21,000 acres and forced hundreds of residents to evacuate.

“Sadly, Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument has burned in its entirety,” the Facebook post read. The visitor center remained untouched at the time of the announcement.

“All Sunset Crater Volcano and Wupatki staff are accounted for and safe,” the post read.

“We were also able to successfully evacuate all culturally important items from the visitor center,” officials said. “For those who worried, the Kabotie painting, corn rock, Qa’na Katsina doll, and other items are safe.”

The monument, named for the vibrant red and yellow colors in its cinder cone, is the result of a volcanic fissure about 1,000 years ago. The eruption covered the area in lava and ash, leaving behind striking geological formations.

It is believed the Sinagua people, who lived in the area at the time, were able to evacuate before the fissure opened up, warned by earthquakes and tremors in the preceding days or weeks.

In the hundreds of years since, vegetation and wildlife proliferated among the seemingly inhospitable lava flows.

Facebook users expressed their sadness at the loss of the monument.

“I was just there the day before the fire,” one person wrote. “To think, the pictures we captured may be the last preserved memories of that landscape. Very sad indeed.”

Sunset Crater was made a national monument in 1930, and since 2000 has seen an average of about 161,000 annual visitors who can drive, bike and hike through the park.

In 2020, around 80,000 people went through the park’s visitor center.

Active fires are still burning near the monument, which remains closed. There is no set date for its reopening.