Wildfires destroy 2 homes near Buena Vista, close National Park as fire season heats up in Colorado
Lightning strikes Thursday ignited fires in Mesa and Montrose counties, including one that closed Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, according to authorities
Gunnison Regional 911 Center/Courtesy photo
Colorado’s wildfire season is heating up with blazes this week destroying two homes near Buena Vista and closing a national park.
About a dozen active wildfires in Colorado across the state as of Friday afternoon, according to the Bureau of Land Management. That includes the Sowbelly Fire, burning on about 2,192 acres in Mesa County, and the South Rim Fire, burning on about 1,640 acres in Montrose County.
The National Weather Service has issued a warning of hot, dry conditions across the western Colorado that will last through the weekend and into next week. Fire restrictions remain in place in many counties.
The said Friday that the greatest smoke impacts are in the southwestern parts of the state, where an has been issued. The Sowbelly Fire, the South Rim Fire and the Deer Creek Fire in Utah are stated as being the primary sources of smoke, according to the blog run by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
Sowbelly Fire
A lightning storm Thursday, July 10, sparked multiple wildfires in southwestern Colorado, including the Sowbelly Fire, which is in the Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area, according to the Bureau of Land Management.
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Local resources and smoke jumpers are responding to the wildfire “but suppression has been a challenge due to difficulty accessing the fire based on terrain and locations,” the federal land management agency said in a Friday.
As of Friday afternoon, the Sowbelly Fire remained 0% contained.
Wildfires close Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
Lightning strikes also ignited two wildfires that closed the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park until further notice on Thursday, according to a news release from the National Park Service.
The largest of those wildfires, the South Rim Fire, has damaged park equipment and outbuildings but fire resources have been able to protect the South Rim Visitor Center, the National Park said in a Friday.
Firefighters will continue to perform structure protection as needed and aircraft are supporting the incident with retardant, water buckets, mapping and aerial supervision, the Facebook post states.
As of Friday afternoon, the South Rim Fire remained 0% contained.
Mountain View Fire destroys two homes near Buena Vista
The Mountain View Fire that sparked Thursday north of Buena Vista destroyed two homes and grew to 60 acres before it was 100% contained Friday, according to the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office. The wildfire led to evacuations and pre-evacuation orders in the area.
Containment means the fire is likely to stay within the boundaries established by firefighters, although there is still a chance that an event such as weather could cause the fire to escape the boundary, the Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.
Those evacuated were not able to return home as of Friday and the cause of the fire is under investigation, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
