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Sadly, we learn that the Grand Canyon Lodge and many other buildings, including the Visitor鈥檚 Center, burned in the Dragon Bravo Fire this week. If it were an act of God, we would think it tragic. Instead, it turns out to be Park Service hubris, a case of potential criminal negligence by officials who believed playing with fire was a good idea.

Ignited by a lightning strike on July 4, Park officials decided to 鈥渕anage鈥� the fire as a controlled burn, calling it 鈥渃onfine and contain,鈥� an 鈥渁lternative suppression strategy,鈥� aiming to reduce future fire hazards and promote healthier plant growth. 鈥淯nexpected strong winds鈥� on July 11 caused the fire to rage out of control and burn down the Grand Canyon Lodge complex.

I first wrote about the dangers of institutionalizing controlled burns as policy and practice when the Park Service ignited one in 2000 that damaged part of the Los Alamos National Laboratory and burned dozens of scientists鈥� homes. Lulled into believing their fire management program was a scientifically sound and professionally led effort, miscalculations and inexperienced personnel went too far, lit too much country on fire, and lost it. The repercussions were swift. The repercussions should be swift now.

Can you imagine a senior official allowing a wildfire to burn so close to major infrastructure, the only refuge for thousands of visitors each year? Is it possible he didn鈥檛 read the seven-day forecast and notice the weather turning hotter and drier? Could it be his fire organization convinced him to trust their judgment, that everything would be fine? It hardly matters. The proof is in the pudding, and the pudding is a smoldering ruin.

The unlucky Park Superintendent is not alone. The National Interagency Fire Center reported today, 鈥渁 total of 35 large fires are being suppressed, and 64 (down from 80 an hour ago) are being managed under strategies other than full suppression.鈥� People in my line of work who fully understand the implications of that innocent-sounding euphemistic Klingon battle language are shouting at the top of their lungs: What the hell is the matter with you people?

Fire veterans are terrified by wildfire policies in the middle of fire season that allow decision makers to let fires burn, however well-intended. Any policy other than putting fires out immediately during June through October is irresponsible and incredibly tone deaf. Controlled burns in New Mexico in 2022 leveled villages and burned 25 percent of the entire two-million-acre Santa Fe National Forest.

Earlier this year, senior agency leaders promised to 鈥渋mmediately suppress fires鈥� so firefighters could put them out, return to base, and prepare for the next fire as quickly as possible. Those leaders may be too new to the role to understand how tough it is to change an agency鈥檚 habits, and have been caught up in the same disastrous policies they were specifically hired to change.

Americans are now faced with the daunting prospect of having all federal firefighters placed in a single agency under the Department of the Interior, the same folks who burned down part of Los Alamos in 2000 and the Grand Canyon Lodge this year. Could there be a worse outcome for those of us who want our National Forests and Parks protected and responsibly managed?

It鈥檚 not President Trump鈥檚 fault, nor is climate change responsible for the fire in the city 25 years ago or the Lodge burning today. It鈥檚 poor decisions by people who no longer understand their roles and responsibilities. The Chief of the Forest Service and Director of the Park Service must change course quickly. Disastrous policies that lead to the destruction of forests and parks can鈥檛 be allowed to continue. Our national inheritance of living forests, historic landmarks like the Lodge, private property across the West, and communities reliant on sustainable use of our public lands all depend on urgent action.

People are saddened by the news, dismayed by the outcome, and growing angrier by the hour. The opportunity here is for real change, despite many in the professional fire services and their leaders who have believed themselves immune from the consequences of their actions because fires are emergencies.