Firefighters in Arizona were trying to contain a pair of fast-moving wildfires that destroyed a historic lodge in Grand Canyon National Park, closed a section of the park for the rest of the season and prompted calls for an investigation into federal authorities' wildfire response.

The Grand Canyon Lodge was one of dozens of structures destroyed in a fast-moving wildfire in Arizona over the weekend, the National Park Service confirmed.

A wildfire in tinder-dry forest on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon grew around 50% on Tuesday after it destroyed dozens of buildings, prompting public outrage that it was left to burn for a week before firefighters tried to fully extinguish it.