Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs toured damage done by the Dragon Bravo Fire in the Grand Canyon’s North Rim on Saturday, July 19. The wildfire in northern Arizona destroyed the historic Grand Canyon Lodge, visitor center and other structures, leading officials to close the North Rim for the rest of the season.
As of Saturday afternoon, the Dragon Bravo Fire was 11,742 acres in size and 2% contained. Another fire in the area, the White Sage fire, is 27% contained and has burned 58,639 acres.
Hobbs viewed the damage on a Blackhawk helicopter flown by the Arizona National Guard, The Arizona Republic reported. She went to the fire camp, where 700 firefighters are currently living in tents and trailers.
After she landed, Hobbs called the fire “devastating.”
“As a lifelong Arizonan, it just is a reminder of the shared stewardship we have of this land of this iconic treasure of the Grand Canyon,” the Arizona Republic quoted her as saying.
KPNX-TV wrote that officials talked to Hobbs about fire suppression efforts during a closed-door meeting.
Hobbs has previously called for an investigation into the Dragon Bravo Fire, as well as ” intense oversight and scrutiny into the federal government’s emergency response.” She criticized the federal government for deciding initially to “manage that fire as a controlled burn during the driest, hottest part of the Arizona summer.”
First, though, Hobbs acknowledged, crews need to take “aggressive action to end the wildfire and prevent further damage.”
The Dragon Bravo Fire started on July 4 after a lightning strike. At first, according to the Arizona Bureau of Land Management, the Dragon Bravo Fire was being managed with a “confine-and-contain” strategy, but the fire grew because of “hot, dry and windy” conditions, leading to a more aggressive approach.
