Hurricane man collects supplies for firefighters at Grand Canyon fires

HURRICANE, Utah (ABC4) — A Hurricane man is collecting supplies in Fredonia, Arizona to give to firefighters working on the Dragon Bravo and White Sage fires at the Grand Canyon.

Hurricane Valley firefighters were deployed to the White Sage Fire, which is burning on the north rim of the Great Canyon and has burned nearly 60,000 acres, as of the latest update from officials. The Dragon Bravo Fire is also burning on the north rim on the south side of the basin. It is nearly 10,000 acres in size and has destroyed over 70 structures.

Both fires were caused by lightning, and crews have been working tirelessly towards containing the fire.

Harry Bell is the owner of Prickly Food & Preserves, and he is gathering snacks and drinks to give to firefighters. He said that he will drive down to donate the supplies on Thursday morning.

It started with a Facebook post in a Hurricane community group. He said that he would be bringing prickly pear lemonade and other snacks to the firefighters at the White Sage and Dragon Bravo fires, and then he asked anyone else who wanted to donate anything to message him.

“Let’s step up as a community to support those on the ground fighting for the forests in our backyard,” he wrote in the post.

“I don’t think I’m doing anything exceptional,” Bell told ABC4.com. “It’s really unfortunate that we’re losing the forest right now, and so I’m honored to be able to help, and with community support, to try to get something going to help spur some positive energy and try to deal with these forest fires.”

Neighbors on Facebook offered to help, and Bell now has a car full of bottled water, electrolyte drinks, protein bars, lotion, and other drinks and snacks to bring to firefighters.

“I’m not doing anything that hard,” Bell said. “Y’know, this is just me trying to help out, and the forest is burning, and we need to put it out.”