Several wildfires continue to eat their way through western Colorado’s mountainous terrain, with one growing more than 6,000 acres overnight after crossing over from Utah, according to emergency officials.  

The scorching weather and “extreme” drought conditions still fan the blazes’ flames as firefighters try to navigate steep, jagged terrain and fight back the four wildfires that prompted Gov. Jared Polis to issue a disaster declaration Sunday. 

Growing wildfires force evacuations in western Colorado; blaze in Utah approaches state line

More than 50 miles southwest of Grand Junction at Unaweep Canyon, the Turner Gulch fire in Mesa County has become the largest of the four at 8,140 acres and 0% containment as of Tuesday, according to government website InciWeb. The wildfire crossed over from Utah, burning about eight miles to the east and remaining “very active” through the night.

“We expect this wildfire to be on the landscape for the foreseeable future,” said Jesse McCarty, a spokesperson for Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team 1, which is leading the operation for the wildfire.

Expected storms on Thursday and Friday can produce winds up to 30-40 mph, which McCarty said will make the fire grow more than they’d like. Smoke will be on the landscape for a while, and the winds will likely push the smoke further east.

McCarty said the dry climate has made vegetation in the area “ripe for ignition,” a component fire officials said has fed the other three wildfires. 

On Monday, firefighters made progress in securing a portion of a fire line on the Turner Gulch fire’s west side. McCarty said that side is along Highway 141 and has homes, powerlines and other infrastructure that firefighters are working to protect.

Four firefighters from the Colorado Springs Fire Department were deployed to assist in managing the blaze, which was sparked by a lightning strike Thursday. No structures have been lost at this time, McCarty said.

On the other side of the canyon, the complex incident management team is assessing the Wright Draw fire, which has grown to 341 acres. Crews are working to keep it on the mesa and to protect “values at risk,” which McCarty said are any assets, resources or areas that are in a fire’s path.

Evacuations for private properties along mile markers 120 and 131 along Highway 141 are still in place. Evacuees can go to Clifton Community Center at 3270 Drive 1/2 Road.

“Please make space for firefighters to do their jobs by not going down Highway 141 if you aren’t a nearby resident,” McCarty said.

Further east, the South Rim fire in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park rages on, growing to 3,988 with 0% containment since Monday, according to a Tuesday news release from emergency officials.

Sparked by lightning strikes that set two areas on fire Thursday, the wildfire was the first of the four to grow to over 1,000 acres. Incident commanders have not provided estimates for when the South Rim fire could be contained.  

Aircraft continuously dropped water over the fire’s northwest side for five hours Monday, giving fire crews the opportunity to build fire line while airtankers dropped retardant after winds from Sunday pushed the fire west of the northern perimeter.

Wildfire risk stays ‘normal’ in most of Colorado

Weather continues to stay in the mid-to-high 80s with relative humidity. Afternoon thunderstorm activity accompanied by winds up to 15 mph are expected to make the fire more active. 

Evacuations remain for the Bostwick Park community in Montrose County. 

The Sowbelly fire, west of Delta and Olathe, has grown slightly to 2,274 acres since Monday, according to fire officials. Similar to the other wildfires, high temperatures, low relative humidity and evening winds have complicated firefighting activities.

Smoke from the wildfires are expected to creep into Colorado Springs Wednesday as winds pick up and weather conditions remain unstable.  

More evacuations issued as Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park wildfire burns over 3,000 acres