PHOENIX — Gov. Katie Hobbs said that once the Dragon Bravo Fire — one of the wildfires burning north of the Grand Canyon — is under control, the decision-making process for how the fire was handled needs evaluating.
The Dragon Bravo Fire started on July 4 and has burned over 11,000 acres with no containment as of Thursday morning. The fire was started by natural causes.
The governor explained that due to the jurisdiction the fire fell in, Arizona was at the mercy of whatever federal decision was made.
“It was a lightning strike on federal land and the federal authorities, in this case it was National Park, decided to manage it as a controlled burn,” Hobbs told KTAR New 92.3 FM’s Outspoken with Bruce and Gaydos on Thursday. “That was July 4th. It was hot, dry, lack of moisture, dense fuel and that controlled burn got out of control. And so I’m concerned and I think a lot of Arizonans share that concern.”
Gov. Hobbs talks about damage at Grand Canyon due to Dragon Bravo Fire
The Dragon Bravo Fire has destroyed over 70 structures on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, including the historic Grand Canyon Lodge.
“It’s going to be closed for the rest of the summer. That’s going to impact a lot of small businesses in that part of the state,” Hobbs said regarding the Grand Canyon’s North Rim.
However, Hobbs emphasized that the top priority is getting the fire under control.
“There’s a federal incident command in place,” Hobbs said. “There certainly are state firefighters providing assistance and support as we would in any fire that breaks out in the state.”
There are around 600 firefighters battling the Dragon Bravo Fire.
Hobbs highlighted that the Dragon Bravo Fire is not the only wildfire currently burning in the state or even in that area. The White Sage Fire is burning just 35 miles north.
The White Sage Fire, also ignited by a lightning strike, began on July 9 and has burned through over 58,000 acres and was at 9% containment Thursday morning. There are 700 firefighters assigned to it.
Stage 2 fire restrictions were implemented at Grand Canyon National Park on Thursday as well.
Gov. Hobbs says Arizonans deserve answers
The governor made it clear that she is not saying that the wrong decision was made, but that she and Arizonans have questions.
The National Park Service defended its response to the fire on Wednesday, after the governor and the state’s congressional delegation called for an investigation on Monday.
“The Grand Canyon is not just … an Arizona treasure, its a national treasure,” Hobbs said. “So many people across the state, across the country have memories of spending time at the Grand Canyon Lodge with their families and it’s lost.”
“Certainly, I’m very grateful that there hasn’t been any life lost in this fire, but I think at the end of the day when we’ve gotten through this crisis, we deserve answers.”
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