Officials on Monday announced that access to the west side of Blue Mesa Reservoir has resumed as crews continue to gain containment of the nearby South Rim fire at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.

“With low fire behavior and favorable weather conditions in place, firefighters were able to dig fireline directly next to the edge of the fire perimeter in the northwest corner of the fire area,” Casey Cheesbrough, incident commander, said in a Monday morning news release. “Crews removed areas of heat at the edge of the fire on the southern and southwestern portions of the fire. Crews continued to patrol the west side of the fire searching for any remaining sources of heat.”

The 4,220-acre wildfire, adjusted down from Sunday, is now 31% contained, up from 21% on Sunday, according to officials.

Download PDF

Several wildfires in western Colorado and into Utah have burned more than 30,000 acres as of Sunday, but firefighting crews were making progress with containment, incident officials said.

Ignited by lightning strikes earlier this month, the Turner Gulch, Sowbelly, South Rim and Wright Draw blazes caused Gov. Jared Polis to make a disaster declaration.

The disaster declaration included the Deer Creek fire, which has grown to 17,134 acres and crossed the Colorado border into Montrose County.

Here’s an update of the western Colorado wildfires:

• Turner Gulch — 15,737 acres, 34% containment

• South Rim — 4,220 acres, 31% containment

• Sowbelly — 2,274 acres, 70% containment

• Wright Draw — 466 acres, 51% containment