Fire crews working across western Colorado made more progress containing and slowing the growth of several wildfires Friday.
The largest fire of the bunch — the Turner Gulch fire near Gateway — was 34% contained as of Friday afternoon, a sharp improvement from 9% reported Thursday morning. The wildfire’s growth also slowed, increasing by 215 acres to 15,286 acres burned, and an afternoon thunderstorm dropped an estimated quarter inch of rain over the fire.
The South Rim fire, near Montrose, increased only slightly and is now 14% contained, as cloud cover Thursday helped curb fire activity and enabled crews’ progress. The Sowbelly fire near Delta remained at 2,274 acres burned as of Friday morning with firefighters increasing containment to 24%. Crews also made progress containing the Utah side of the Deer Creek fire, and some residents there began returning home Thursday.
Collectively, the fires have burned more than 24,000 acres, or 38 square miles, in Colorado since they ignited last week. Another brush fire — the Cottonwood Flat fire — was reported Thursday afternoon south of I-70 between Rulison and Parachute, prompting evacuation orders for nearby residents. Fire crews held the perimeter at 310 acres on Friday and made “good progress,” the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office said. Evacuation orders for County Road 309 were scaled back to a pre-evacuation notice Friday night.
For the third straight day, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment issued an air quality health advisory for Mesa and Montrose counties Friday morning because of the wildfire smoke. The advisory is in effect until 9 a.m. Saturday.
Jump to: Turner Gulch fire | Wright Draw fire | Deer Creek fire | South Rim fire
Turner Gulch fire and Wright Draw fire near Gateway
Firefighters have made more progress in containing the state’s largest wildfire, bringing the Turner Gulch blaze to 34% containment as of Friday, primarily on the fire’s western edge. That’s up from 9% Thursday morning. The fire has burned 15,286 acres, a slower rate of growth than the 1,000 acres reported burned from Wednesday to Thursday.
“Today was a good day,” fire officials wrote on Facebook on Thursday night, adding that crews would spend the night “removing vegetation along the east side” of the fire.
The smaller Wright Draw fire, burning on the other side of Unaweep Canyon across Colorado 141, has held steady at 448 acres since Wednesday, although there is no containment. Crews are using heavy equipment to build a fire line to the north, although terrain on both fires is extremely difficult or impossible to navigate in some areas. Aircraft drops of water and retardant also are slowing the fire’s progress and keeping flames from crossing the North Fork West Creek.
Both fires are burning through a mix of extremely dry trees, brush and grass, including gambel oak, which fire officials said is particularly volatile.
“We don’t trust it, this fuel type,” Operations Section Chief Rob Powell said in an update video Friday. “Something squirrelly could happen, and it could run.”
Fire crews are building hand lines and using bulldozers to create fire breaks, along with taking preventive steps to protect structures.
But there’s still the potential for “very active fire spread” through Saturday, fire officials said in an update on InciWeb.
The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office lifted some evacuation orders Friday afternoon, and homes along Colorado 141 are now on pre-evacuation status. Sheriff’s officials also issued a pre-evacuation notice for private land within the Uncompahgre National Forest from Forest Road 406 to 409. Areas near the Divide Forks Campground and Casto Reservoir are still under mandatory evacuation, according to an evacuation map for the fires.
The two fires are still burning around Colorado 141, which is still closed between 7.40 Road and 16.10 Road at mile marker 124, according to the state Department of Transportation.
Deer Creek fire near Paradox
The wildfire burning near the Colorado-Utah state line had burned 15,819 acres as of Friday morning, with 11% contained — up from 7% Thursday. The bulk of the blaze has burned in Utah, although more than 1,800 acres of Colorado land have been torched.
Federal maps show the east edge of the fire is burning along Montrose Cfounty Road T2 and County Road U2, about 3 miles west of Paradox.
In a Thursday night update, fire officials said on Facebook that increased cloud cover and humidity plus light winds helped calm the fire’s behavior and contributed to additional containment on the fire’s western edge.
On Friday, officials wrote that firefighters “made excellent progress” on Thursday on the north and east sides of the fire, and some residents in Utah began returning home.
“On the west end near Paradox, crews are assessing structures and building a contingency dozer line,” fire officials said. “Helicopters and Unmanned Aerial Systems continue to support efforts on difficult terrain where conditions are unsafe to put firefighters on the ground. Smoke remains in the area, and drivers near the Highway 46/90 corridor should watch for fire traffic and reduced visibility.”
The fire is creeping and smoldering along a two-mile stretch of public land in Colorado, and firefighters may be helped by cooler weather and isolated showers Friday and Saturday.
South Rim fire near Montrose
The 4,227-acre South Rim fire grew 48 acres Thursday, another day of slow growth for a fire that was ignited by a lightning strike last week.
The fire, which is burning the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, is now at 14% containment, according to a Friday morning report from the Rocky Mountain Area Complex Incident Management Team 3. Forecast thunderstorms never arrived Thursday, but cloud cover helped keep fire activity low, the team said. Water was dropped from helicopters on the southern end of the fire, where flames were “slowly creeping down the canyon from the knife-edge ridge.”
Park officials on Friday confirmed the fire damaged or destroyed several buildings and other infrastructure, including the facility management building, Western National Parks warehouse, welding shop, some heavy equipment and the South Rim campground.
“Since the fire is still active and not contained, the park’s total estimated loss is unknown. When the fire is 100% contained, formal damage and safety assessments will begin,” Park Service officials said in an update.
Containment is along the south edge of the fire, and fire crews are using hand tools and heavy equipment to work the northwest, west and southwest areas of the fire, while mop-up work continues on other areas of the western section. Vegetation is still being removed, fire officials said.
Conditions are still “highly conducive to large fire growth,” including critically low moisture and challenging terrain, officials wrote on InciWeb.
The national park is closed to the public until further notice and all campground reservations have been canceled for the rest of the year. None of the previously issued evacuation orders has been lifted, and several areas west, south and southeast of the fire — including the Bostwick Park area — remain under evacuation orders, according to the evacuation map.
Colorado 347 is remains closed at the junction of U.S. 50.
The Blue Mesa Reservoir is also closed west of Middle Bridge, and the Lake Fort Boat Ramp is closed for boat launches.
The Curecanti National Recreation Area remains open to the public.
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