Arizona Senators Press Trump Interior Secretary On Response To Grand Canyon Wildfire

Arizona’s senators are demanding answers from nan Department of nan Interior complete its handling of a devastating wildfire that is still burning retired of power connected nan Grand Canyon’s North Rim.

In a letter sent Monday to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Democratic Sens. Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly questioned nan department’s first consequence to nan Dragon Bravo Fire. The blaze dispersed quickly complete nan play and destroyed dozens of structures, including nan historical Grand Canyon Lodge, a visitant halfway and a wastewater curen plant.

“It has been reported that National Parks Service officials initially decided to show nan occurrence arsenic a controlled burn, but changed their attack arsenic beardown winds allowed nan occurrence to jump aggregate containment features,” nan senators wrote successful nan letter. “There are galore questions complete nan first determination to dainty this occurrence arsenic a controlled pain and consequent decisions connected really to respond.”

Neither nan National Park Service nor nan Department of nan Interior instantly responded to requests for comment.

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, connected Sunday called for an independent investigation into nan national response, peculiarly nan determination to “manage that occurrence arsenic a controlled pain during nan driest, hottest portion of nan Arizona summer,” she said successful a station connected X.

“An incident of this magnitude demands aggravated oversight and scrutiny into nan national government’s emergency response,” Hobbs wrote. “They must first return fierce action to extremity nan wildfire and forestall further damage. But Arizonans merit answers for really this occurrence was allowed to decimate nan Grand Canyon National Park.”

As of Monday, nan occurrence had consumed much than 5,700 acres and remained 0% contained, according to InciWeb, nan U.S. Forest Service’s wildfire accusation site.

Gallego and Kelly said they were concerned that early decisions by nan national authorities “may person affected nan dispersed of occurrence successful bluish Arizona,” peculiarly since nan North Rim has been nether weeks of utmost power and knowledgeable a barren winter.

The senators asked Burgum to item nan factors that contributed to nan first determination to dainty nan occurrence arsenic a controlled burn.

Controlled burns are fires that are intentionally group aliases allowed to pain to trim nan magnitude of barren and flammable vegetation successful an area. These kinds of burns are utilized to negociate ecosystems that request periodic fires to enactment patient and besides to little nan consequence of bigger wildfires from breaking out.

Gallego and Kelly called nan Grand Canyon “Arizona’s crown jewel” and asked astir nan resources disposable to conflict nan wildfire. They besides questioned really nan Interior Department plans to forestall different blazes from spreading. The senators requested responses by Aug. 10.

The Dragon Bravo Fire was started by lightning connected July 4. The National Park Service said Sunday that nan blaze “exhibited utmost and volatile occurrence behaviour nan evening of July 12, resulting successful a 500-acre description .” The fire's accelerated description was fueled by sustained winds of 20 mph and gusts reaching up to 40 mph, according to nan NPS.

Early assessments propose that betwixt 50 and 80 structures person been lost, but nary injuries aliases deaths person been reported truthful far.

A separate, bigger blaze known arsenic nan White Sage Fire is besides burning northbound of nan Dragon Bravo Fire. The White Sage Fire has consumed much than 49,000 acres and is besides 0% contained, according to InciWeb.