Coal Mine fire

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

Crews worked 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.

Lowline fire

Started: July 26, 2023
Size: 1,999 acres
Location: 14 miles northwest of Gunnison and 11 miles southwest of Crested Butte
Cause: Lightning

Evacuations were ordered after lightning sparked the Lowline fire, which threatened 10 structures between Squirrel and Mill creeks, according to the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests. The fire was burning on a ridge at 9,400 feet in spruce and aspen forest with heavy dead and downed timber.

Read more of our coverage of the Lowline fire.

Last updated Oct. 19, 2023 10:46 a.m.

Bear Creek fire

Started: Aug. 1, 2023
Size: 1,093 acres
Location: About 2½ miles west of the Weminuche Valley in southwestern Colorado
Cause: Lightning

Crews closely monitored the fire and its potential to spread to the northeast, officials from the U.S. Forest Service said.

Last updated Oct. 19, 2023 10:46 a.m. 

Hope fire

Started: Sept. 21, 2023
Size: 1,290 acres
Location: northwest of the McPhee River in southwest Colorado
Cause: Lightning

Firefighters worked on the fire lines to control the fire, which is burning at Hoppe Point, east of Bradley Campground.

Last updated Oct. 26, 2023 12:28 p.m. 

Trail Springs fire

Started: Oct. 19, 2023
Size: 1,358 acres
Location: about 12 miles northwest of Pagosa Springs
Cause: Lightning

The fire was burning in an area with dense forest above West Devil Creek, which is about three miles northwest of Chris Mountain. Fire managers reported moderate fire activity with isolated tree torching. Crews worked to contain the fire so that it did not spread northeast toward private property.

For more details, visit InciWeb.

Little Mesa fire

  100% of the perimeter contained as of Sept. 20 

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 used 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. The fire chewed through juniper, pinyon pine, sage brush and grass. 

Last updated Oct. 19, 2023 10:43 a.m. 

Quartz Ridge fire

  100% of the perimeter contained 

Started: Aug. 5, 2023
Size: 2,850 acres
Location: About 3 miles into the San Juan Wilderness in southwestern Colorado and 13 miles northeast of Pagosa Springs
Cause: Lightning

The Quartz Ridge fire burned in a relatively remote and inaccessible area of the South San Juan Wilderness, according to the U.S. Forest Service.Steep terrain, the remote location and risks associated with working dead and downed trees made fighting the fire challenging, the service said. The fire chewed through conifer, spruce and fir trees and at lower elevations, aspens.

Last updated Jan. 8, 2024 1:54 p.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.