Little Mesa fire

  55% of the perimeter contained 

Started: July 31, 2023
Size: 4,009 acres
Location: About 12 miles southwest of Delta, burning on Dominguez Escalante National Conservation Area
Cause: Lightning

Fire crews are using natural barriers, like streams and large areas of rock, to keep the fire from growing in certain areas, according to an update from the Bureau of Land Management. Aerial crews may drop buckets of water on the fire amid windy and dry conditions that could fuel its growth. The fire is chewing through juniper, pinyon pine, sage brush and grass. Firefighters expect to contain the fire by Oct. 1.

Last updated Sept. 19, 2023 11:40 a.m. 

Quartz Ridge fire

 0% of the perimeter contained 

Started: Aug. 5, 2023
Size: 2,848 acres
Location: About 3 miles into the San Juan Wilderness in southwestern Colorado and 13 miles northeast of Pagosa Springs
Cause: Lightning

Firefighters expect the fire to stay in a very remote area of the South San Juan Wilderness, but smoke is visible from Pagosa Springs and nearby areas, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Fire crews are unable to fight the flames from the ground due to steep terrain, the remote location and risks associated with working dead and downed trees, the service said. The fire’s estimated containment date is Oct. 31.

Last updated Sept. 19, 2023 11:43 a.m. 

Bear Creek fire

 0% of the perimeter contained 

Started: Aug. 1, 2023
Size: 1,090 acres
Location: About 2½ miles west of the Weminuche Valley in southwestern Colorado
Cause: Lightning

Crews are monitoring the fire and its potential to spread to the northeast, officials from the U.S. Forest Service said. As sunny, dry days increase fire activity, smoke could be visible.

Last updated Sept. 19, 2023 11:46 a.m. 

Lowline fire

 55% of the perimeter contained 

Started: July 26, 2023
Size: 1,899 acres
Location: 14 miles northwest of Gunnison and 11 miles southwest of Crested Butte
Cause: Lightning

Evacuations were ordered (and have since been lifted) after lightning sparked the Lowline fire, which was threatening 10 structures between Squirrel and Mill creeks, according to the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests. The fire is burning on a ridge at 9,400 feet in spruce and aspen forest with heavy dead and downed timber. Read more coverage of the Lowline fire here.

Last updated Aug. 25, 2023 12:35 p.m.

Coal Mine fire

 95% of the perimeter contained 

Started: July 6, 2023
Size: 286 acres
Location: About 18 miles south of Pagosa Springs in Archuleta County
Cause: Lightning

Crews are working to mop up the lightning-sparked fire in southwest Colorado near the Southern Ute Reservation. In fire managers’ latest update, no smoke was seen coming from the fire despite strong wind gusts.

Last updated July 26, 2023 11:59 a.m.

Dry Lake fire

  100% of the perimeter contained as of Aug. 12 

Started: Aug. 1, 2023
Size: 1,372 acres
Location: Burning on San Juan National Forest land northeast of Bayfield
Cause: Lightning

Fire crews continue to mop up and control the fire line, according to an Aug. 12 update from Inciweb, a federal database. The fire, which sparked on a network of off-road vehicle trails, may continue to smolder but fire activity is expected to remain minimal.

 Last updated Aug. 14, 2023 8:00 a.m. 

Devil’s Thumb fire

 100% of the perimeter contained as of Aug. 2 

Started: July 4, 2023
Size: 81 acres
Location: Devil’s Thumb trailhead in the Indian Peaks wilderness about 7 miles northeast of Fraser in Grand County
Cause: Lightning

Federal and county fire crews worked to extinguish the fire, which was burning in steep, rocky terrain in the Indian Peak Wilderness with heavy pine beetle kill and spruce blowdown.

Last updated Aug. 8 2023 5:10 p.m.

Chris Mountain fire

 100% of the perimeter contained as of July 26 

Started: June 28, 2023
Size: 511 acres
Location: About 12 miles west of Pagosa Springs, north of Highway 160 on Chris Mountain in Archuleta County
Cause: Lightning

Crews worked to contain the fire burning on national forest-owned land, but officials warned that smoke could be visible in the following days as interior pockets of the fire, composed of dead and downed trees, continued to burn. The fire did not cross onto private property, but evacuations were issued (and have since been lifted) for those living near the heel of the fire. 

Last updated July 27, 2023 10:31 a.m. 

Titan fire

 100% of perimeter contained  as of July 2   

Started: June 28, 2023
Size: 930 acres
Location: About 11 miles northwest of Trinidad in Las Animas County
Cause: Under investigation

403 fire

 100% of perimeter contained as of March 30    

Started: March 30, 2023
Size: 1,559 acres
Location: Near Florissant in Teller County, west of Colorado Springs
Cause: Park County Sheriff Tom McGraw said his office is pursuing criminal charges against the person who started the fire on their property.