Utah
Wildfire threatens Utah family’s 40-year mule ride business at Grand Canyon
TROPIC, Utah — For over 40 years, Canyon Trail Rides, a family-run business based in southern Utah, has been a beloved fixture at the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.
“I started this business in 1983, and it’s been a really good business,” said company founder Paul Mangum.
Paul began offering mule rides in Zion and Bryce Canyon in 1973, expanding to the North Rim a decade later.
However, on July 4, everything changed when lightning sparked the Dragon Bravo Fire.
National News
PHOTOS: Historic Grand Canyon lodge, other structures destroyed in wildfire
“The smoke was so thick you could hardly breathe,” said Paul’s son, Tawn Mangum.
On July 11, the Mangums evacuated their mules and staff and shut down operations at the North Rim.
“We take 70 to 80 people a day from May to October, and we’re shut down,” Tawn said. “I don’t know what we’re going to do.”
The fire has burned over 5,700 acres and destroyed dozens of structures — including the historic Grand Canyon Lodge, the only hotel on the North Rim, along with the visitor center and employee housing.
WATCH: Massive ‘Firenado’ awes, frightens over Deer Creek Fire in southeastern Utah
Massive ‘Firenado’ awes, frightens over Deer Creek Fire in southeastern Utah
It’s the second time the lodge has burned since it was built in 1927; the first fire was a kitchen fire that damaged it in 1932.
Even though the North Rim sees only 10 percent of the park’s visitors, it’s home for the Mangums.
“I met my wife there, raised our three kids there. It’s our second home,” Tawn said.
With the fire still burning, the future of Canyon Trail Rides at the Grand Canyon’s north rim is uncertain.
“It’s real sad,” Paul said. “What I feel most bad about is my employees, because they’re out of a job now.”
ST. GEORGE, Utah (KUTV) — One person was hospitalized at the St. George Regional Hospital after a car rolled and caught fire just south of the Utah-Arizona border.
The Beaver Dam and Littlefield Fire Department in Arizona said its crews responded to the crash near the Black Rock Road exit – roughly two miles south of the state border – on Sunday night.
Upon arrival, crews put out the car fire and found the driver had left the scene. A single occupant, who was able to get out of the car on their own, was transported to the hospital by a Beaver Dam ambulance.
MORE | Crashes
Their condition has not been publicly released.
Details on what led to the crash and the condition of the driver were not immediately available.
The Beaver Dam and Littlefield Fire Department said law enforcement investigated the scene.
BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT
_____
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz missed out on the NBA Playoffs, but still scored a big win thanks to a coin flip.
In Monday’s tiebreaker coin flip to determine who had the fourth-worst record in the league last season, the Jazz came out winners over the Sacramento Kings, who had the same 22-60 record.
Had the Jazz lost the coin flip, they would have been fifth in NBA Draft Lottery odds. Only the worst four teams are guaranteed to remain within the top eight of the lottery.
If Utah had fallen to fifth, there would have been the chance they could have dropped out of the top 8 teams in the lottery, and owed the draft pick to Oklahoma City, which was top-8 protected in a previous trade.
The Jazz now have an 11.5 percent chance to win the first overall pick in the NBA Draft Lottery, which is scheduled for Sunday, May 10.
The Utah Jazz are rolling into a big offseason before they into what’s projected to be a wildly different-looking 2026-27 campaign from what they had just seen this past 22-win season.
But before that season is able to get underway, the Jazz have some priorities to address in the offseason––both in terms of constructing their roster and retaining a few key pieces from last year’s group into next year.
That makes their salary cap situation and everything around it important to be aware of in the next few months. So with that in mind, we’ve put together an offseason cap tracker for a glimpse of what the Jazz are dealing with in terms of cap space, contracts, and any of their own free agents hitting the open market.
Let’s break it down:
Maximum Possible Cap Space: $24.7M
The Jazz are currently projected at just under $25 million in cap headed into the summer. That’s without any additional moves made to the roster from how they’re entering the offseason, and without factoring in any free agents’ pending cap holds.
That number is bound to get smaller once the Jazz hash out their contract situation for Walker Kessler, but it could also see an uptick if Utah were to shed salary with some of their non-guaranteed deals, or any other player they wanted to pivot from.
As of now, it allows the Jazz to make a couple of moves around the edges in free agency, but the main focus will lean on signing Kessler to a long-term deal.
Contracts
A glimpse of the Jazz’s contract values for the 2026-27 season, and when they’re slated to hit free agency from their current deals:
– Jaren Jackson Jr.: $49.0M, ’29 PO
– Lauri Markkanen: $46.1M, ’29 UFA
– Ace Bailey: $9.5M, ’29 RFA
– Keyonte George: $6.5M, ’27 RFA
– John Konchar: $6.1M, ’27 UFA
– Cody Williams: $6.0M, ’28 RFA
– Brice Sensabaugh, $4.8M, ’27 RFA
– Svi Mykhailiuk: $3.8M*, ’28 UFA
– Kyle Filipowski: $3.0M, ’28 RFA
– Isaiah Collier: $2.7M, ’28 RFA
– Hayden Gray: $2.1M*, ’27 RFA
– Bez Mbeng: $2.1M*, ’27 RFA
– Blake Hinson (two-way), ’27 RFA
Total: $142.1M
*- non-guaranteed
The biggest chunk of the Jazz’s salary leans on their top two veterans, Markkanen and Jackson Jr., each making a combined $95 million next season alone.
However, the rest of the roster isn’t taking up much money. No one else will be making more than $10 million, and their payroll is a little less than $150 million in total.
Another noteworthy fact: the Jazz’s key roster pieces outside of George and Sensabaugh are all under contract through the next two seasons.
Both of the aforementioned names are also bound to see extension discussions take place this summer, which might lock in their future for even longer.
Free Agents
A look at who from this season’s roster is set to hit the free agent market in July:
– Kevin Love (UFA)
– Jusuf Nurkic (UFA)
– Walker Kessler (RFA)
– Oscar Tshiebwe (two-way)
– Elijah Harkless (two-way)
The biggest name of note is, of course, the Jazz’s restricted free agent big man, Walker Kessler, who Utah is bound to hand a big payday, but it remains to be seen how much that contract––or offer sheet from another team––will be.
Jusuf Nurkic and Kevin Love have also expressed their desire to return to the roster as they hit free agency. Re-signing both likely wouldn’t cost much for the Jazz financially, but instead relies on a question of whether the roster space is readily available to keep both.
Be sure to follow Utah Jazz On SI on X for daily Utah Jazz news, rumors and analysis!
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow
-
Georgia10 minutes ago2026 NFL Draft Scouting Report — Christen Miller, DT, Georgia
-
Hawaii16 minutes ago
Iran War Puts a Pause on Hawaii’s Housing Market Recovery
-
Idaho22 minutes agoIdaho Fish and Game reminds humans not to touch wild baby animals
-
Illinois28 minutes ago‘Millionaires tax’ would hike rate 61% on 22K Illinois small businesses
-
Indiana34 minutes agoWhy Sophie Cunningham turned down multi-year contract offers to return to Indiana Fever
-
Iowa40 minutes agoIowa DOT plans overnight I‑80 closure at northeast mixmaster
-
Kansas46 minutes agoFinal 7-Round Kansas City Chiefs 2026 NFL Mock Draft: Putting my skills to the test against an AI trained to think like Brett Veach
-
Kentucky52 minutes agoAsia Boone will return to Kentucky for senior year