Two homes are lost and evacuation notices remain as fire officials continue attacking multiple wildfires burning along Colorado’s Western Slope Friday morning.
One blaze, the Mountain View Fire, has destroyed at least two homes and burned at least 60 acres in Chaffee County northwest of Buena Vista, according to Thursday evening updates from the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office said there were no known injuries at this time. Fifty homes remain in an evacuation zone surrounding the fire, according to the Chaffee County Facebook page.
All evacuees are asked to report to the Buena Vista Sheriff’s Office. Evacuees with small animal can take them to the Ark Valley Humane Society while large animals can be taken to the Buena Vista Rodeo Grounds, the sheriff’s office said.
The sheriff’s office declared Friday a no-burn day for all of unincorporated Chaffee County “due to limited fire fighting resources as they will be busy still fighting the Mountain View Fire north of Buena Vista.” No burning outdoors is allowed, including smoking, the agency said.
Officials said they did not believe the fire had entered public lands as of Thursday evening.
About 140 miles east, wildfires burning at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park had grown to 1,640 acres overnight, according to fire tracking website inciweb. The fire was deemed the South Rim Fire.
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park closed Thursday as fire officials fought the flames, which officials said were caused by lightning.
This is a developing story that will be updated.