Huffman Demands Answers from President Trump Over Mishandling of Grand Canyon Wildfire
Huffman also calls for independent investigation, accountability over catastrophic wildfire response
Washington, D.C. – Today, Natural Resources Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) wrote to President Trump demanding answers on the catastrophic federal response to the Dragon Bravo Fire, which has torn through the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.
The blaze, which ignited on July 4, was allowed to burn under “managed fire” protocols for days despite record-high heat, extreme drought, and volatile conditions — ultimately destroying the historic Grand Canyon Lodge and other irreplaceable park infrastructure.
In a letter sent to President Trump today, Huffman made clear that the consequences of this failure fall squarely on the President and his top officials.
“As you have insisted in many, many other cases, the ultimate responsibility for policy decisions lies with you and your appointees, not with career civil servants,” Huffman wrote. “Yet incredibly, we have not heard anything from you, or from Secretaries Burgum and Rollins about this massive fire and the destruction it has wrought [on] one of America’s most iconic national parks.”
Huffman pointed to the administration’s top-down proposal to consolidate all federal wildfire response under the Department of the Interior as a cause for alarm.
He wrote: “While managed fire practices are a necessary tool in many circumstances... it appears they were clearly the wrong approach in this case given the exceptionally hot, dry, and volatile conditions on the ground.”
In the letter, Huffman calls for detailed documentation and internal communications related to the fire, as well as answers to five key questions about when federal leadership was notified, how frequently they were updated, and whether firefighting resources were requested or withheld.
“Rebuilding infrastructure at the North Rim will take years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars. There is a clear need to examine the decision-making process to understand how this was allowed to happen.”
Huffman also sent a letter to the Office of Inspector General of the Interior and Agriculture Departments urging an independent investigation into the administration’s failure. He raised concerns about political interference and called for a full accounting of who knew what, when — and why the fire was allowed to burn in such a high-risk environment.
Ranking Member Huffman requested a full response from the administration by Monday, August 4, 2025.
Read the full letter to the President here.
Read the full letter to the OIG here.
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