Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-AZ) questioned the federal government’s handling of the fires burning the Grand Canyon, which have spread rapidly and destroyed dozens of buildings.
Two wildfires, the White Sage Fire and the Dragon Bravo Fire, are burning at or near the North Rim.
“I am incredibly saddened by the destruction of the historic Grand Canyon Lodge, and my heart goes out to every person impacted by the Dragon Bravo Fire near the Grand Canyon’s North Rim,” Hobbs said in a statement. “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 commended the firefighters and first responders who are combating the fires while calling for an independent investigation into the decision-making at the federal level that resulted in devastation.
“An incident of this magnitude demands intense oversight and scrutiny into the federal government’s emergency response,” Hobbs said. “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.”
The Dragon Bravo Fire was sparked by lightning on July 4 and was initially managed by authorities through a “confine and contain” strategy, which allowed the fire to burn as they attempted to contain its spread. A week later, fire officials adopted an aggressive suppression method as the fire rapidly grew and the area experienced high heat, low humidity, and strong winds. The fire stood at 0% containment as of Sunday.
The White Sage Fire doubled in size Sunday from 20,000 acres to 40,000 acres.
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) echoed Hobbs’s sentiment and called for an investigation into the federal fire control strategy.
“Because of the Dragon Bravo Fire, Arizona lost more than a historic lodge, it lost a piece of our state history,” Gallego said in a statement. “As Governor Hobbs has rightly called for, there must be a comprehensive, independent investigation into the handling of fire and the rationale for treating it as a controlled burn, especially as Arizona experiences the driest, hardest part of summer.”
“I will do my part on the federal level to get answers,” he added.
The wildfire claimed the Grand Canyon Lodge, which was the only lodging inside the park at the North Rim. It opened in 1937.
The North Rim is closed for the rest of the season due to the fire. The fire has claimed around 50 to 80 buildings, including the National Park Service visitor center, an administrative building, some employee housing, and a gas station.
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No deaths or injuries have been reported as a result of either fire.
Millions of people visit the Grand Canyon each year. More people visit the South Rim for accessibility reasons, but the North Rim still attracts thousands of visitors each year.