Arizona’s governor is demanding answers about how the National Park Service handled a wildfire burning out of control in Grand Canyon National Park. The fire destroyed a historic lodge there.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The governor of Arizona is demanding to know how the National Park Service handled a wildfire that is burning out of control in Grand Canyon National Park. The fire was started by a lightning strike on the 4 of July, and it now covers 5,700 acres. It’s 0% contained. It destroyed a historic lodge on the Canyon’s north rim. Adrian Skabelund from member station KNAU reports.
ADRIAN SKABELUND, BYLINE: National Park officials say they were managing the Dragon Bravo fire as it burned slowly on the remote North Rim of the Grand Canyon for more than a week. Then it blew up. On Saturday night, 40-mile-an-hour gusts pushed the fire over containment lines, growing the blaze by 500 acres. It torched 70 buildings, including the iconic Grand Canyon Lodge, which dates back to the 1930s.
TERRY GUNN: Just the mood of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon will be altered for years to come.
SKABELUND: Terry and Wendy Gunn have lived in Marble Canyon, a couple hours away from the park’s North Rim, for close to 40 years.
T GUNN: Kind of a tradition was Father’s Day lunch at the lodge.
WENDY GUNN: And then going back up for the fall colors.
SKABELUND: Now Arizona officials are demanding an investigation. Governor Katie Hobbs says the National Park Service needs to answer for the decision to manage the fire as a controlled burn. Arizona Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego echoed that demand in a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
JOELLE BAIRD: Conditions changed very quickly and unexpectedly.
SKABELUND: Joelle Baird is a spokesperson with Grand Canyon National Park. She pushed back on the governor’s characterization of their response and says an investigation will come.
BAIRD: People have the right to ask questions about fire management. Our teams on the ground, they’re using the best science available and all the tools and resources that they have to make these types of informed decisions.
SKABELUND: The North Rim is closed for the season due to the fire. On Monday, tourists still gathered at the canyon’s more popular South Rim, but the vista before them was obscured by smoke. Nearly 400 personnel and multiple aircraft are now fighting the blaze. Stefan La-Sky is a spokesperson with a specialized team that took over management of the wildfire.
STEFAN LA-SKY: Want to make it very clear that we’re – we are in an aggressive firefight with it. We are here in full suppression mode, and we are here to put the fire out – for the knockout punch, hopefully.
SKABELUND: He says firefighters are battling extreme conditions as high winds pass through the region. Difficult canyon terrain means they’re especially reliant on aircraft to fight the fire.
For NPR News, I’m Adrian Skabelund in Flagstaff.
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