Gov. Katie Hobbs and Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego are calling for an independent investigation into how federal officials managed the Dragon Bravo Fire burning on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.
The blaze destroyed the historic Grand Canyon Lodge last weekend as heavy winds and very dry conditions drove the wildfire thousands of acres.
“As someone who was born and raised in Arizona, I know what the Grand Canyon National Park means to so many people, not just in Arizona, but all over the world, and how devastating it is to see this damage done to one of Arizona’s most cherished landmarks,” Hobbs said Monday.
Lightning ignited the Dragon Bravo Fire on July 4. Over the course of a week, it grew to about 120 acres and officials decided to manage the fire—meaning they allowed it to burn in order to consume forest fuels that could contribute to larger future wildfires.
However, on July 12 weather conditions shifted dramatically as heavy wind gusts of up to 40 miles per hour caused the fire to expand toward the North Rim, prompting officials to evacuate remaining park employees.
Visitors had previously been evacuated from the area because of the White Sage Fire burning 40 miles to the north. The Dragon Bravo Fire eventually burned the historic Grand Canyon Lodge, which was opened in 1937 after the original lodge also burned, along with more than 70 North Rim structures.
“An incident of this magnitude demands intense oversight and scrutiny into the federal government’s emergency response,” said Hobbs. “They must first take aggressive action to end the wildfire and prevent further damage. But Arizonans deserve answers for how this fire was allowed to decimate the Grand Canyon National Park. While the flame was started with a lightning strike, the federal government chose to manage that fire as a controlled burn during the driest, hottest part of the Arizona summer.”
As of Tuesday morning, the fire had grown to 8,570 acres with no containment.
“I am calling for the federal government to conduct a comprehensive, thorough, and independent investigation into the management of the Dragon Bravo Fire, and to produce a report detailing the decisions that led to this devastating outcome,” said Hobbs. “As wildfires become more frequent and more intense, Arizona deserves nothing less than an aggressive and proactive emergency response from federal partners to ensure Arizonan’s lives, homes, businesses and natural resources are preserved.”
The wildfire burned a water treatment facility on the North Rim, which released chlorine gas. It prevented aerial crews from dropping fire retardant in the area and limited crews to only water drops. It is unclear whether it affected firefighters’ ability to protect North Rim structures.
On Monday Senators Kelly and Gallego also called for a federal investigation into the fire in a letter they sent to U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
“There are many questions over the initial decision to treat this fire as a controlled burn and subsequent decisions on how to respond,” wrote the senators. “We cannot allow these decisions to damage thousands of acres in northern Arizona, risk the health and safety of residents, and destroy landmarks like the historic Grand Canyon Lodge, which was lost to the Dragon Bravo fire.”
Kelly and Gallego want the Interior Department to outline why it allowed the Dragon Bravo Fire to initially continue burning. They are also demanding information on the department’s response to the fire after it exploded in size and whether needed resources were not available to managers.
In addition, the senators questioned how the Trump administration would continue to manage wildfires following an executive order to consolidate federal firefighting into one agency.
Fire officials at Grand Canyon National Park stood behind their initial management decisions of the Dragon Bravo Fire and pushed back against Hobbs’ concerns of mismanagement on Monday.
“The Department of Interior takes the threat of wildfires with the utmost seriousness and it’s committed to protecting lives, communities and public lands,” said Grand Canyon National Park spokesperson Joëlle Baird. “Our teams on the ground, they’re using the best science available, and all the tools and resources that they have available with science, to make these types of informed decisions.”
KNAU’s Adrian Skabelund contributed to this report.
