Smoke continues to fill the skies of Colorado on Wednesday as firefighters battle five wildfires along the state’s Western Slope.
Four of the fires were sparked last Thursday during an afternoon storm and have continued to grow, together consuming more than 19,300 acres, according to fire officials.
The fifth fire spread into Colorado from Utah on Tuesday, though its Colorado footprint remains unknown.
A fresh air-quality advisory was issued Wednesday by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment for wildfire smoke.
The advisory lasts from 8 a.m. Wednesday to at least 9 a.m. Thursday and covers Chaffee, Delta, Gunnison, Eagle, Garfield, Lake, Mesa, Montrose, Ouray and San Miguel counties.
“Thunderstorms are possible near the fires on Wednesday, and may produce gusty, erratic winds that can send smoke in any direction,” state health officials stated in the advisory.
Jump to: Turner Gulch fire | Wright Draw fire | Deer Creek fire | South Rim fire | Sowbelly fire
Turner Gulch fire and Wright Draw fire near Gateway
Mesa County’s Turner Gulch fire, which exploded in size late Monday night and early Tuesday morning, consumed another 4,300 acres Tuesday night, according to fire officials.
The wildfire, which had burned just over 1,400 acres Monday afternoon, has now reached 12,488 acres with no containment, according to federal fire maps Wednesday morning.
The Wright Draw fire on the opposite side of Unaweep Canyon is burning on 437 acres, fire officials said.
“All in all, it hasn’t done a whole lot, but I don’t trust it,” Operations Section Chief Rob Powell said of the Wright Draw fire during a Tuesday afternoon briefing. “If it gets to the bottom of the draw, lines up with the slope and gets an updraft, it’s going to want to go.”
While the Turner Gulch fire has spread miles along Colorado 141 in the past two days, it’s yet to cross the highway, where fire crews are working to protect homes and power and fiber-optic lines.
It’s unlikely the fire will be contained in the next two weeks, Powell said.
Colorado 141 remains closed between 7.40 Road and 16.10 Road at mile marker 124 for the fire, according to state transportation officials.
Land around Colorado 141 from mile marker 120 to mile marker 134 is under mandatory evacuation orders, according to Mesa County sheriff’s officials. The stretch between mile markers 134 and 137 remains under pre-evacuation orders.
Deer Creek fire near Paradox
The Deer Creek fire that crept into Colorado from Utah has destroyed more than 14,700 acres between the two states, fire officials said.
As of Wednesday morning, the wildfire was burning on 14,760 acres and was 7% contained. That’s another 1,800-acre jump from Tuesday, when Utah officials first reported the fire had crossed state lines.
Although it’s unknown how many acres the Deer Creek fire has scorched in Colorado, federal fire maps showed it was burning on a section of land more than two miles long and, at its widest, about two miles across.
The burn area is just north of Colorado 90 in Montrose County, near Paradox. It encompasses multiple county roads and parts of both Ice Lake Creek and Lion Creek.
Dry thunderstorms and gusty winds fueled the fire’s overnight growth, fire officials said.
The fire has shut down Rimrocker Trail at Q13 Road and Good Road, U5 Road at the turn for the Buckeye Reservoir and X2 Road, according to Montrose County officials.
South Rim fire near Montrose
As of Tuesday night, the wildfire in and near Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park had burned more than 4,000 acres with no containment, according to fire officials.
The South Rim fire was last mapped at 4,160 acres, fire officials with the Rocky Mountain Area Complex Incident Management Team 3 said.
The national park remains closed to the public with no timeline to reopen, and mandatory evacuations are in effect for nearby homes and trails, including the Botswick Park area.
As of Monday morning, two zones — including a section north of U.S. 50 along Colorado 347 and an area between Rawhide Gulch and the Montrose Reservoir — were under pre-evacuation orders, according to a map created by Montrose County officials.
“This fire is still very active,” fire officials stated on Facebook. “Even with all the good work underway, it takes time — crews need to be confident the fireline will hold, especially in steep and challenging terrain.”
Fire officials said abundant, extremely dry fuel sources are fueling the fire’s spread day and night. Debris rolling down the canyon is igniting areas below, sending flames rushing back up the steep slopes.
Winds from the north were driving the fire toward U.S. 50, fire officials said Tuesday night.
Gusty winds up to 20 mph are expected in the fire area during Wednesday afternoon thunderstorms, according to the National Weather Service.
Sowbelly fire near Delta
The more than 2,200-acre wildfire burning on the edge of three counties in western Colorado did not grow between Monday and Tuesday, according to the Bureau of Land Management Colorado.
As of Monday morning, the Sowbelly fire had scorched 2,274 acres in the Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area. That estimate remained the same on Tuesday, and no update was available on Wednesday.
The fire is burning about 12 miles west of Delta, on the edge of Montrose, Delta and Mesa counties.
Firefighters on Tuesday were working to extinguish hotspots on the fire’s northern edge and secure a perimeter around the “creeping and smoldering” fire, but no official containment had been made, BLM Colorado officials said.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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