Firefighters are trying to contain the Dragon Bravo Fire on the Grand Canyon’s North Rim and keep it from destroying more buildings.
The fire has so far scorched at least 13 square miles. It destroyed at least 70 buildings. And it led to criticism by Arizona officials who asked why a fire started by lightning strike was allowed to burn until it whipped out of control.
“I absolutely support Gov. [Katie] Hobbs’ call for an independent investigation into what happened with that fire. It’s incredibly tragic,” said Attorney General Kris Mayes.
Rep. Paul Gosar sent a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Tuesday outlining his concerns. Those included: ascertaining who made the decision to treat the fire as a controlled burn versus opting to immediately extinguish the blaze.
“I cannot be silent as the wildfire continues to burn uncontrolled. I have an obligation to conduct congressional oversight and obtain answers for all Arizonans including the brave firefighters risking their lives to control this inferno,” he wrote in a statement.
Coconino County Supervisor Patrice Horstman said the county is currently working with fire crews to manage the two fires currently burning.
“At this particular point as you know, we don’t just have one large fire that’s zero percent contained. We have two large fires that are zero percent contained,” she said.
The White Sage Fire in the area has burned more than 80 square miles. Horstman is also looking to the future.
“We certainly look to hopefully help rebuild on the North Rim,” she said.
The Dragon Bravo Fire started on July 4. Robert Rickey with the National Weather Service in Flagstaff said after the initial lightning strike, a low pressure system dried out the area even more than what is normally seen during critical threat periods, and then 20 mph winds swept in Friday and Saturday.
Northern Arizona University fire ecology professor Andi Thode said the topography and weather worked against crews.
“From what I understand, they had been prepping their control lines and were actually getting ready to do a burnout operation off some of those control lines and got some unpredicted winds; winds that are not really typical for this fire season. Usually we have a predominant southwest wind for fire season and this was more of a west-westerly wind,” she said.
The fire destroyed the Grand Canyon Lodge on Sunday.
“Thinking about those structures could be situated so that they still meet these historic requirements but they have more resistance to wildland fire, I think is important, just as important as it is for our communities that sit in these fire dependent and fire prone ecosystems,” Thode said.
Meteorologists are hopeful that monsoon moisture will enter the area later this week.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been modified to correct the spelling of Andi Thode's name.
