Colorado wildfires: Growth slows, containment increases on Western Slope fires

Firefighters battling multiple wildfires across Colorado s Western Slope are making gradual progress slowing fire increase and increasing containment bureaucrats stated Saturday morning Four of the state s actively growing wildfires stated minimal development between Friday and Saturday with afternoon rain storms helping fire crews on Colorado s largest wildfire the -acre Turner Gulch fire near Gateway Fire crews increased containment on the -acre Sowbelly fire to as of Saturday morning according to federal fire maps The fire is burning in the Dominguez Escalante National Conservation Area near Delta The wildfires four of which ignited in a lightning storm last week have burned more than acres in western Colorado Another brush fire the Cottonwood Flat fire was revealed Thursday afternoon south of I- between Rulison and Parachute prompting evacuation orders for nearby residents Fire crews held the perimeter at acres on Friday and made good progress the Garfield County Sheriff s Office declared Evacuation orders for County Road were scaled back to a pre-evacuation notice Friday night Jump to Turner Gulch fire Wright Draw fire Deer Creek fire South Rim fire A helicopter works the Turner Gulch fire in Gateway on Wednesday July Photo by Hyoung Chang The Denver Post Turner Gulch fire and Wright Draw fire near Gateway A Friday afternoon storm brought enough rain to dampen parts of the state s largest wildfire but the Turner Gulch fire is still actively burning along to the east and southwest edges near the Mesa County region of Gateway fire executives stated Saturday morning The fire grew acres on Friday bringing the blaze to acres with containment as of Saturday morning While fire improvement has slowed considerably since the flames roared across thousands of acres earlier this week firefighters are still trying to figure out how to access the the bulk remote sections of the Turner Gulch fire and nearby Wright Draw fire which is burning on acres on the opposite side of Unaweep Canyon Both fires are burning through a mix of extremely dry trees brush and grass including gambel oak which fire bureaucrats announced is particularly volatile We don t trust it this fuel type Operations Section Chief Rob Powell reported in an update video Friday Something squirrelly could happen and it could run Fire crews will continue building and strengthening fire lines with dozers hand tools and strategic burning fire personnel reported Saturday morning Crews are also flying over the majority of treacherous terrain on both fires to try to figure out a containment plan The Mesa County Sheriff s Office lifted chosen evacuation orders Friday afternoon and homes along Colorado are now on pre-evacuation status Sheriff s authorities also issued a pre-evacuation notice for private land within the Uncompahgre National Forest from Forest Road to 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 which is still closed between Road and Road at mile marker according to the state Department of Transportation Deer Creek fire near Paradox The wildfire in Utah and Colorado has burned acres as of Saturday morning with contained up from Friday While most of of the fire has burned across eastern Utah more than acres of Colorado land have been torched Federal maps show the east edge of the fire is burning along Montrose County Road T and County Road U about miles west of Paradox Fire crews continue to focus on building dozer lines west of Paradox to create a fire break around the area executives commented in a Saturday morning update There is a area meeting at the Paradox Society Center Road at p m Saturday Utah Fire executives revealed The meeting will focus on evacuation zones in the Paradox Valley On Friday authorities wrote that firefighters made excellent progress on Thursday on the north and east sides of the fire and several residents in Utah began returning home Related Articles Colorado wildfires Crews bring largest fire under containment Douglas County airport fire that burned part of Chatfield State Park sparked by passing train PHOTOS Inside the burn zone of Turner Gulch fire Colorado s largest operational wildfire Colorado wildfires Cottonwood Flat fire forces evacuations near Rifle Colorado wildfires Five fires on Western Slope burn nearly acres The fire is creeping and smoldering along a two-mile stretch of population land in Colorado and firefighters may be helped by cooler weather and isolated showers Friday and Saturday The South Rim fire burns in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park on Sunday July Photo courtesy of South Rim Fire Information South Rim fire near Montrose More than firefighters and experts responding to the South Rim fire in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park kept the wildfire again kept the fire from making any large runs on Friday with the fire s footprint growing just acres as of Saturday morning The lightning-sparked blaze is now burning on acres in Montrose County and containment remains at fire bureaucrats stated in a Saturday morning update Fire crews are focused on building and strengthening fire lines by removing vegetation extinguishing hot spots and strategic burning When weather allows pilots will use drones to drop ping pong-sized balls of chemicals to ignite small fires around the perimeter to build fire lines Using drones limits the exposure to firefighters administrators announced The fire has damaged or destroyed several buildings and other infrastructure in Black Canyon including the facility management building Western National Parks warehouse welding shop various heavy equipment and the South Rim campground The national park is closed to the inhabitants 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 is remains closed at the junction of U S 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 citizens This is a progressing story and will be updated Get more Colorado news by signing up for our Mile High Roundup email newsletter