r/Wildfire • u/CBSnews • Jul 15 '25

News (General) National Park Service's handling of wildfire that destroyed historic Grand Canyon Lodge questioned

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/grand-canyon-lodge-wildfire-burned-for-days-before-it-spread/
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u/Lucky_Double_8301 Jul 15 '25

Two different things and I do not agree with that Sheriff. All I’m saying is that one small fire crew could have prevented all those buildings from burning. It would have been prudent to put that fire out in the peak of fire season. Manage the fires that start naturally later in the season when cool weather and moisture is in the forecast. I just hate to see so many buildings especially historic ones like that burn when that fire could have easily been prevented with a minimal amount of effort

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u/No_Mind3009 Jul 15 '25

Do you have all the information about the fuel moisture levels, weather forecasts, available resources, etc? Because the person that made the call did. The issue is you’re jumping straight to calling it a bad decision when you don’t have all the information and you have the benefit of hindsight. No one has an issue with doing an investigation, we have issues with jumping to conclusions.

If it turns out they did make a call that wasn’t consistent with the information at the time, then you can lead the mob. Until then, quit being an armchair quarterback.

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u/Lucky_Double_8301 Jul 15 '25

I did have all the information. It’s not a hard decision. When the fire is small and easy to catch, put it out. Or things like this will happen. I’ve seen this numerous times in my 20 career as a boots on the ground firefighter. I’ve had opportunities to catch small fires that turned into big, expensive campaign fires because someone could make a decision. It’s not that difficult to make the connection that letting a fire go in peak fire season with forecasted wind is a bad idea. I don’t really care as much because it was NPS buildings that burned but try explaining to a private person why their house burned when the fire was only smoldering at an acre for 3 days??

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u/FFTFU Jul 17 '25

If you have all the information I guess you don’t need educated on the fire history of the North Rim and managing fire this way for a long time. I guess you don’t need educated on the mission and values of the NPS. I also assume you know that firefighter and public safety are also the number one priority on any fire and that priority was met under extreme circumstances. I also hope you are never charged with making any decision especially one that could potentially have a negative outcome. The folks making decisions have a lot of experience and give a shit about the chunk of dirt they are/were charged with managing. Have some grace on you “brothers and sisters” and understand they are dealing with the outcome of the decision they made and it’s not easy.