Colorado’s wildfires continued to burn from the Western Slope to the Continental Divide as fire officials warn that more hot and dry weather over the weekend could push further fire growth.
The Front Range is already seeing smoke and lower air quality from the four large fires, and meteorologists say more is on the way from California’s fires.
Click here to skip to a specific fire: Pine Gulch fire | Grizzly Creek fire | Cameron Peak fire | Williams Fork fire | Wildfire map
Pine Gulch fire
Updated as of 10:00 a.m.
John Wark, Special to The Denver Post
The Pine Gulch wildfire burns north of Grand Junction, Colorado on Thursday evening, Aug. 20, 2020.The Pine Gulch fire grew 2,384 acres overnight Thursday, and is now burning 124,934 acres — 195 square miles — outside Grand Junction, fire officials said Friday morning on Facebook.
Fire activity moderated overnight, but crews are expecting further growth Friday, as the weather remains hot with low humidity and dry fuels, officials said. The fire remains 17% contained.
Thursday brought gusty winds and lightning — but precious little rain, as firefighters worked to establish a containment line along Colorado 139 near Douglas Pass on the fire’s west side.
Grizzly Creek fire
Updated as of 10:00 a.m.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
A helicopter works late into the evening taking buckets of slurry from I-70 to be put on the Grizzly Creek Fire on Aug. 18, 2020 in Glenwood Canyon near Glenwood Springs.The Grizzly Creek fire grew minimally overnight, and is now burning 29,992 acres, or 47 square miles, near Glenwood Springs. Firefighters have increased containment to 11%, officials said in a Friday morning news release.
Thunderstorms on Thursday brought rain to the east side of the fire near Bair Ranch, slowing the fire’s growth, officials said. Firefighters spent Thursday building direct and indirect fire lines and strengthened existing containment lines around the fire.
Crews continued structure protection in Bair Ranch, which has been a focus for several days.
Some fire resources had to be diverted to the Red Canyon fire nearby, which flared up due to hot and dry conditions, officials said.
Friday brings the return of hot and dry whether, which will increase fire activity. Officials are watching the west side of the fire, which remains hot and dry, while the east side could also see growth as vegetation dries out.
Interstate 70 between Gypsum and Glenwood Springs remains closed, as it has been for more than a week. The Colorado Department of Transportation wants to reopen the highway in a matter of days.
Cameron Peak fire
Updated as of 10:00 a.m.
The Cameron Peak fire grew to 16,602 acres overnight Thursday and remains at 0% containment, officials said in a Friday morning news release.
The southwest corner of the fire received slight moisture Thursday, which will help fire activity near Cameron Pass and Long Draw Road, officials said.
No structures have been damaged and no firefighters have been injured in the fire burning across Larimer County.
The fire has already burned to timberline in the Rawah Wilderness, and crews will monitor to make sure the fire doesn’t continue spreading into high alpine vegetation, officials said.
The region will see sunny skies Friday, with temperatures in the upper 70s to lower 80s and winds up to 20 miles per hour in the afternoon.
Williams Fork fire
Updated as of 10:00 a.m.
The Williams Fork fire grew by 831 acres overnight Thursday, and is now burning 10,288 acres — 16 square miles — outside Fraser, officials said in a Friday morning news release.
Favorable weather conditions Thursday allowed crews to work on containment lines to the west and southeast areas of the fire, officials said. The growth mainly came on southeast and south ends of the fire, with the majority of smoke coming from the fire’s interior.
The fire did not grow toward Fraser and Winter Park, which are 7 miles northeast of the fire at its nearest point. The Continental Divide stands between the fire and the towns, and its rocky alpine ridges and peaks help contain the fire west of the Fraser Valley, officials said.
Crews on Friday plan to focus on structure protection in the Fraser Experimental Forest and Henderson Mill area, while officials warned that the weather — with hotter temperatures and low relative humidity — will resume and continue through the weekend.
Road, trails and campgrounds on U.S. Forest Service land remain closed on a wide swath of the nearby area. No evacuations have been ordered for the Fraser Valley.
Wildfire map
Click markers for details, use buttons to change what wildfires are shown. Map data is automatically updated by government agencies and could lag real-time events. Incident types are numbered 1-5 — a type 1 incident is a large, complex wildfire affecting people and critical infrastructure, a type 5 incident is a small wildfire with few personnel involved. Find more information about incident types at the bottom of this page.
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Colorado wildfire update: Latest on the Pine Gulch, Grizzly Creek, Cameron Peak and Williams Fork fires - The Denver Post
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