Colorado’s governor has issued a disaster declaration for Montrose, Delta and Mesa counties in western Colorado as wildfires continue to burn through thousands of acres after a lightning storm Thursday.
The largest is the South Rim fire, which has burned more than 3,500 acres since starting Thursday morning near the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. Nearly 200 firefighters have been brought into the area northeast of Montrose
“With the disaster declaration, the State Emergency Operations and Resource Mobilization Plans are activated and the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM) coordinates the state response through management of the State Emergency Operations Center and deployment of field operations staff to directly support county emergency managers with consequence management,” Gov. Jared Polis’ office said in a statement.
In an update Sunday morning, South Rim fire officials said they are working on the southeastern edge of the fire, which was where most of the growth was Saturday.
On Sunday afternoon, Blue Mesa Reservoir west of Middle Bridge was closed to boating so aircraft could refill buckets and tanks as they worked the nearby fire.
Evacuations were put in place Saturday afternoon north of U.S. 50 by the Montrose County Sheriff’s Office as the wind-driven fire moved toward the Bostwick Park area on the southwestern edge of the fire.
Crews did not have any containment on the fire as of Sunday morning. A federal fire team will take command of the fire operations starting Monday morning, officials said in the Sunday update.
The South Rim fire is one of at least a half-dozen wildfires that were ignited by a lightning storm that moved around western Colorado on Thursday.
The Sowbelly fire has burned more than 2,200 acres in Delta, Montrose and Mesa counties, officials said in an update Sunday morning.
The Turner Gulch fire has burned nearly 1,000 acres in a very high, mountainous area northeast of Gateway in Mesa County. Evacuations were put in place Saturday in Gateway. Nearby, the Wright Draw fire is also in a high, steep area.