Arizona's governor has demanded an investigation into why a wildfire that destroyed a historic lodge and dozens of other structures on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon was allowed to burn for a week before federal firefighters tried to put it out.

U.S. land managers are racing the clock as hotter, drier weather raises the risk of wildfires in the nation’s overgrown forests with each passing year.

"As stewards of some of our country's most beloved national treasures, we are devastated by the loss of the Grand Canyon Lodge," Aramark, the company that operated the lodge, said in a statement.

Evacuations have been ordered for the area north of Jacob Lake, in northern Arizona, due to the White Sage Fire.