GRAND CANYON — Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs arrived at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon July 19 for an in-person update on the Dragon Bravo Fire.
Flames have consumed more than 11,000 acres and many structures, including the historic Grand Canyon Lodge and the visitor center.
Hobbs first toured near the blaze’s burn path on a Blackhawk helicopter flown by the Arizona National Guard.
Sunbeams illuminated the fire haze from a distance beyond the South Rim, long before the smoke and stands of charred trees came into view north of the canyon.
The chopper circled over the skeletal remains of the Grand Canyon Lodge below.
“It’s so devastating,” Hobbs said shortly after landing. “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.”
Hobbs landed about 25 miles north of the rim near De Motte Campground and first toured the fire camp, where roughly 700 personnel were staged to battle the blaze.
“Really the heavy lift and heavy workload is for the folks on the fire line,” said Manny Cordova, a liaison for the Southwest Area Incident Management Team, who toured the governor through the camp. “This is all designed to support them.”
The tour included a visit to the finance trailer, where daily tallies of the cost are calculated. The tally as of July 19, according to a white board: $8,035,152.20.
The governor also received a briefing on the fire behind closed doors in a yurt.
The fire began with a lightning strike on July 4 about four miles from the North Rim’s tourist hub. Hobbs has questioned the initial response to the blaze on federal land, and previously called for an investigation of why it was handled as a controlled burn.
The National Park Service has said fire suppression was the goal but the flames jumped containment features when winds picked up and drove the wildfire over thousands of acres.
Arizona has 80 firefighters assisting the federal response to the blaze, Torres said.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Gov. Katie Hobbs views devastation from Grand Canyon North Rim fire