The nearly 13,000-acre wildfire burning in eastern Utah crossed the Colorado border Monday night, spreading into Montrose County, according to fire officials.
That fire, the Deer Creek fire, joins four others already burning on Colorado’s western slope.
Those four have already destroyed at least 7,981 acres, according to fire agencies across the area.
Jump to: Deer Creek fire | South Rim fire | Wright Draw fire | Turner Gulch fire | Sowbelly fire
Deer Creek fire near Paradox
Utah’s Deer Creek fire grew nearly 3,000 acres between Monday and Tuesday and slowly spread across the Colorado border, Utah fire officials said.
As of Tuesday morning, the fire was burning on 12,906 acres in eastern Utah and western Colorado and was 7% contained, according to fire officials. That’s a 2,848-acre increase from Monday morning’s size estimate.
It’s unknown how much the fire’s burned inside Colorado, but Utah fire officials said it crossed into the state near Paradox, just north of Colorado 90.
Thunderstorms and erratic winds forecast for the area Tuesday afternoon could increase fire activity, according to Utah Fire Info, a task force that partners with state and federal agencies.
South Rim fire near Montrose
The wildfire burning in and near Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park grew to nearly 4,000 acres Monday night, according to fire officials.
As of Monday, the South Rim fire had consumed 3,988 acres with no containment, according to federal officials.
The wildfire, burning about 15 miles northeast of Montrose, is one of four fires sparked by lightning during a Thursday storm and still burning.
Those fires and the Deer Creek fire together prompted Colorado Gov. Jared Polis to issue a verbal disaster declaration on Sunday.
South Rim fire officials are hosting a community meeting in Grace Community Church at 16731 Woodgate Road in Montrose. The meeting will start at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Wright Draw fire and Turner Gulch fire near Gateway
Two wildfires burning southwest of Grand Junction in Mesa County have destroyed more than 1,700 acres, according to the Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Unit.
The fires near Gateway were last mapped at 12:51 p.m. Monday, according to fire officials.
At that time, the Turner Gulch fire was burning on 1,470 acres and the nearby Wright Draw fire had destroyed 249 acres.
Colorado 141 is closed between mile marker 120 and mile marker 124 for the fire, officials said. The public is asked to avoid the area.
The area around Colorado 141 from mile marker 120 to mile marker 131 was evacuated, officials said. The following stretch between mile markers 131 and 137 remains under pre-evacuation orders.
Sowbelly fire near Delta
The wildfire burning in the Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area on the edge of three western Colorado counties was still sitting at 2,274 acres Monday night, according to fire officials.
No containment has been made on the Sowbelly fire, which is burning in parts of Montrose, Delta and Mesa counties, fire officials said.
The Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area is about 12 miles west of Delta.
More than 70 fire personnel remained in the field Monday evening to battle the flames, according to fire officials.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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