Kelly, Gallego Call for Investigation into Management of Dragon Bravo Fire

The fire has destroyed the historic Grand Canyon Lodge and continues to burn uncontained across the North Rim of the Grand Canyon

Today, Arizona Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego demanded answers from Department of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum regarding his Department’s handling of the Drago Bravo fire. The fire, which originated from a lightning strike on July 4, has since grown to 5,000 acres and has already destroyed between 50 and 80 structures in Grand Canyon National Park, including the historic Grand Canyon Lodge. 

“There are many questions over the initial decision to treat this fire as a controlled burn and subsequent decisions on how to respond […]. We cannot allow these decisions to damage thousands of acres in northern Arizona, risk the health and safety of residents, and destroy landmarks like the historic Grand Canyon Lodge, which was lost to the Dragon Bravo fire,” the senators wrote. 

To further understand the Department’s decision-making, the senators asked for responses to the following questions:  

• Please provide an analysis of what factors went into the decision to treat this fire as a controlled burn.  
• Were the recent heat trends and dryness of the area taken into account? 
• Given the history of challenges with controlled burns in Northern Arizona, how does the Department plan to avoid similar fire spread in the future? 
• How does the Department plan to track wildfire decision-making throughout the Administration’s consolidation of the wildland fire workforce with the U.S. Forest Service? 
• What resources has the Department surged to respond to the fire since it escaped containment?  
• Were the resources available and stationed at the North Rim, or were they stationed elsewhere?  
• Are there resources needed that are not currently available? 

“As discussed during your confirmation process, the Grand Canyon is Arizona’s crown jewel,” the senators concluded. “The Dragon Bravo fire has already devastated this natural and cultural treasure, and the fire continues to spread. As the Department of Interior is poised to take on even more wildfire response responsibility under President Trump’s wildfire consolidation executive order, our constituents deserve to know that the best wildfire response decisions are being made.” 

Read the full letter here.