After visiting the site of the Dragon Bravo Fire over the weekend, Gov. Katie Hobbs has travelled to Washington, D.C., to meet with federal officials about efforts to fight and prevent wildfires in Arizona.
Hobbs said she will meet with Interior Secretary Doug Bergum and leaders from the Forest Service about the wildfire that has burned nearly 13,000 acres around the Grand Canyon as of Monday. The fire is 8% contained.
The governor had called for an investigation into federal officials’ firefighting strategy after the historic Grand Canyon Lodge burned down. She said she wanted answers about why it was initially managed as a controlled burn instead of being treated by an aggressive firefighting strategy.
After visiting the Dragon Bravo site, Hobbs declined to say whether she thinks firefighters should have been more aggressive to prevent the fire’s spread.
“I am not second guessing,” Hobbs said over the weekend. “I think we need to look at, after we get this fire managed, what went into the decision making and, if there were missteps, how we learn from that.”
The governor said she will also relay what she saw at the fire site to federal officials.
“Hearing from folks on the ground how we can better continue to work together in these kinds of incidents,” Hobbs said.
But, for now, the governor said efforts should be focused on getting the Dragon Bravo Fire under control and re-opening the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, a popular tourist destination.
“There’s going to be some business disruption,” Hobbs said. “We want to make sure those folks are back in business as quickly as possible.”
According to the governor’s office, Hobbs will be in Washington until Thursday.
