Arizona Governor Wants Investigation of Federal Handling of Grand Canyon Fire
The Dragon Bravo fire, which was ignited by a lightning strike on July 4, according to a wildfire tracking website, had grown to more than 5,700 acres by Monday, shutting down access to trails through the North Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park and destroying the historic Grand Canyon Lodge and other structures.
'While the flame was started with a lightning strike, the federal government chose to manage that fire as a controlled burn during the driest, hottest part of the Arizona summer,' the governor, Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, said in a statement. She called for an independent investigation.
'An incident of this magnitude demands intense oversight and scrutiny into the federal government's emergency response,' she said. 'They must first take aggressive action to end the wildfire and prevent further damage.'
A controlled burn is one of the most important tools used to manage fire, according to the National Park Service. They help rid forest grounds of vegetation that can serve as fuel for fires.
The prescribed plan takes careful account of the fuels, size, weather and environment and balances those factors against other possible fire-prevention methods.
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